Why must my dad make a will?

[SleepyJess]

Can someone in the know explain to me whether it is really necessary for my dad to make a will?

In the past week, he and I have sorted out a funeral plan for him as that was his wish; to make things easier for me when the time comes as all these matters will be my responsiblity. I am his next of kin; there is only me and my sister and only me who has any children (his grandchildren.) He is seventy-five, not in particularly good health (although does not have anything imminently life threatening I hope.. he is disabled/has prostate cancer the latter which is unlikely to be what eventually ends his life or so we have been told.)

He is not well off but has a sum of money in a bank account. He said that if he dies with no will, it will automatically come to me, as his offical next of kin. It will then be up to me to decide what happens to any money. (Give some to my sister etc.) Is this correct?

I am unsure about this. I not in any way anxious to ensure all his money comes to me (although I would think there is only my sister and I that anything would go to under the circumstances is that right?) But he does have siblings; would they be entitled to some of his "estate" were he not to state otherwise? It's not that he doesn't get along with them.. it just that I wouldn't have thought it was the norm for them to get a handout on the event of his death.

So does he need a will? And if so, how do we go about it? Does we have to go to a solicitor or can we just buy one of those will forms from the post office??!

SJ x

PS Forgot to say, he divorced my mum years ago; she has since been remarried and widowed.

Yes, he needs a will. Am in exactly the same situation with my mother, hasn't made one, needs to. Much clearer and saves on solictor's fees should siblings make a claim, which I'm sure that they can. Maddening and very difficult subject to bring up.

Many solicitors will give you a free half hour or so consultation about this sort of thing. Phone around a few to find out. Obviously they won't write a will for you free of charge, but will give you a better idea what to do.

You can get will packs from WHSmith for very simple wills, and I think thta that is better than nothing.

Without a will, I think you and your sister woud both inherit the lot after tax and debts (I assume your mum's not around any more, from what you post). But if there are any other relatives then it can get more complicated. Your children may also automatically inherit something.

Try Googling "wills", and "intestate" and you're bound to come up with some official website whihc will give you more accurate info.

Useful info on who inherits what under intestate laws.

I think if you die intestate (ie without a will) your estate automatically reverts to the government. Not sure what would happen then and if you would then need to claim it back - which I guess would be a long and lengthy process and not something you want to have to be doing if you've just lost your Dad.

This bit makes me wonder now...

If there is no surviving spouse/civil partner
The estate is distributed as follows:

to surviving children in equal shares (or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive)

He must do a will. You and your siblings will share what's left after taxes etc and that doesn't sound like what he wants. Phone the Law Socity and ask them to recommend a firm close to you that does wills. You should be able to get a simple will for about £100 (depending where you live). Well worth the money. That way you know his money is ending up where he wants it to go.

No, the government doesn't get the loot if somebody fails to make a will - I suspect they'd like to as many people die intestate.

Making a will is a fairly simple and inexpensive procedure. Sorting out someone's estate if they die intestate isn't. It's that simple.

You and your sister would inherit equally if you have no other siblings, but the rules on intestacy are quite complicated and it's worth checking them out before deciding not to make a will.

There are very complex rules when someone dies without a will. The estate does not revert to the government but is divided up amongst surviving children etc. It's really important to get it right. There is so much misinformation around about this subject - go and get some proper advice.

This is DH's MN article on why it is important to make a will. Dh is a work at the moment, but I can get him to read this later and see what his views are.

Do NOT buy a DIY will and don't be tempted by what looks like lower fees from a will making company. DH makes more money from sorting these out later and often after a death has occured than he does from preparing a proper will int he first place. A will is an important document and it is worth having one done properly. A well qualified, experienced solicotr specialising in this area will do the best for your dad both now and in the future when the will is needed.

Have copied and pasted your original 2 posts and sent them to DH to browse if he gets chance.

the other reason your dad should make a will is to ensure that he is the one who determines where his assets go. - i am sure you and your sister are nice people and would not dream of fighting over inheritance, but many many other families have been torn apart by this. no will and everyone squabling over who gets what! fisticuffs over the silver and riot police on standby as auntie doris takes on cousin mabel over the royal doulton! rotten display imo, but some people are like that and it can get nasty.

you would not determine how much your sister got in any case, with no will your dad's assets would be split 50/50. if this is not what he wants, now is the time for him to say so the only legally enforcable way...with a will!

Cripes, thanks. Yes think I'm going to have to get some proper advice. Yes there is only me and my sister.. (mum is very much alive but in no way in line for any money from dad, her ex husband of 12 years) but from what dad states, he wants all the money (such as it is, it's not a huge amount) to go to me, with me then giving some of it to my sister. This is no doubt because I am the oldest; his offical next of kin, and the one that does everything for him that needs doing (re his disability and being housebound) and visits him daily (well me and DH do all this.)

Another complication is that my sister is not my real sister, not his real daughter, although we all see her and treat her as such. She was not even adopted by my parents.. she was privately fostered and then custody was granted to my parents until she was of age. I'm sure my dad fully expects her to have some of what is left when he dies, but wants me to be the one to sort it out.

Does a will also decide who is the executor?, because that obviously needs to be me.. I have pretty much arranged his whole funeral for/with him in the past few day so know his wishes and concerns. And there is nobody else who would be the executor unless DH and I did it jointly.

He has no debts and I'm not even sure there is enough money for the tax part to be very relevent. I just know nothing about this kind of thing and value all the advice. It's so difficult to discuss and to be honest I hadn't even seriously considered any of it for more than a few seconds ever until Dad started going on about getting this funeral plan sorted, which is now done, dusted and paid for. Thing is he is prone to depression and all this talk of funerals seems to have depressed him even more (even to the point where he is going on about 'ending it all' but I think he is just being dramatic and alarmist as this is how he is quite often unfortunately!!) and I am cringing at the thought of talking to him about getting this will sorted. It's like I am saying 'Righto.. you are clearly going to peg it shortly, be it naturally or not, and so I need to make sure I am getting all that is available to me" !!! ) But I see it clearly needs to be done.

Thanks Hulababy. I would be v.grateful for your DH's off-the record advice.

And £100-ish doesn't sound too bad.. He is housebound though. It would be quite an ordeal to get him to the solicitors. Do they ever come to people's houses? For a price probably! (I must read some of these links thank you.)

Message withdrawn

Thanks again Hulababy. You are a gem. (You'd best update DH (for when he gets time poor man!!) about my sister not being my real sister as well. I am cringing at the thought.. my mum would go ballastic if she thought this would make any difference.. but I need to know how it is in the eyes of the law, regardless of the fact that sis does not actually bother with dad all that much. He is hard work admittedly.. but still.. he is our dad.

I will do - sent him the last message and will add this. He is out at lunch at the moment but I should be able to get back to you later this evening with some information all being well.

So far from what you have read I definitely think your dad needs to see a solicitor. Solicitors will visit in person but will charge more to cover their travelling time and costs - takes twice as long at least time wise so need to account for that. Also a lot can be done by telephone as well.

Crikey thats a thought Norm If he lives for years (and I sincerely hope he does, regardless of his cantankerosity!! Is that a word??!) then it is highly likely that he WILL need resisdential care! He is a tad unsafe on his own as it is, in sheltered housing and with two carers plus us calling daily!!

So what if we set up the will and then he has to go into a care home?? I should perhaps add that the 'sum of money' (such as it is) is not in his main current account so 'people' (social services etc) would not automatically know about it unless he or I chose to tell them.. or they chose to intensively investigate..

I will ask DH to comment on nursery home stuff to if he gets the chance. The same solicitor who deals with wills should be able to deal with providing for nursing home car stuff too.

Help the Aged has a lot of useful info on its website

If you claim help with car home fees and don't declare all your assets I assume that it's fraud BTW

The carers at the moment are via social services, part funded by dad himself (Incapacity benefit) and if that needed stepping up it would not cost any more.. it's based on his ability to pay. What I am concerned about is if he needed to move into residential care (with or without actual nursing care), which I think might well be on the cards long term.

Spoken to Dh briefly. Lot of information and he is still on catch up after our holiday last week, so not much time. Bottom line is that he definitely needs a will. It does make a difference that your sister is not your dad's real daughter sadly. To save upset ad heartache later a will is necessary for this. And it is legally possible to do stuff to help reduce the chances of paying nursing home fees if required.

You definitely need a proper solicitor, not a will writing servce. Make sure you get one that speciailises in this area of law - private client (or wills, probabte, tax and trusts).

you miht find this bit relevant then:

Rules on savings and capital

The savings limits in England, Wales and Northern Ireland usually go up every April. The current savings limits for each country are as follows:
Upper Savings limits in the UK Upper limits

England and Northern Ireland £21,000
Wales £21,500
Scotland £20,000

Lower limits
England and Northern Ireland £12,750
Wales £16,000
Scotland £12,250

If you have more than the upper limit in capital (includes savings, stocks and shares, and property) you will be expected to refund the full cost of the fees. You will not be eligible to receive financial help from your local authority until your savings are reduced to the upper limit.

If you have less than the upper savings limit, or when your savings drop to this level, then the local authority will asess your ability to pay for your care by looking at both your capital and your income.

Thank you Iota x

Oh goodness, he has a lot less than the lower savings limit!! That makes me feel a little better then (again not from my point of view.. , that sounds awful! Just that I can imagine him being really distressed at having to hand over his small amount of savings if he went into residential care.)

I will get onto this asap and find a solicitor who can do this for him/us. I just phoned to check on him as well and because he was in a 'good' (for him!) mood I broached the subject of a will.. and the importance of him being able to ensure his money goes where he wants it to when he isn't around to say. He semed ok with this.. hope I haven't depressed him.. he is prone to brooding!!

Thanks everyone, esp. Hulababy and Mr Hulababy.

Hopefully having a will and his things in order will actually help him. He will have less to worry about knowing that such important matters are taken care of.