Who to leave money to if my immediate family all get obliterated at the same time?? (Sorry morbid post!)

[tricerotopsrule]

Sorry to be really morbid but I've just realised that if me, my DH and my children all somehow die together in an accident, given that I don't have a will, my money would all go to my brother and sister!

My parents are both deceased and I recently got some inheritance from my dad so I have a decent amount of money saved.

I don't talk to my sister (we are estranged as she is a total ) and last time I saw her was my dad's funeral nearly a year ago. If she got half of my money I would not be happy! I also have no relationship at all with her kids and barely know them.

My brother is OK but I have a very superficial relationship with him and he's also totally loaded so doesn't need any more money.

I also don't really want to leave it to my in laws as they are also loaded and don't need it.

In the absence of family who would you leave money to? I thought about specifying friends but would I still have the same friends when I'm 80 and how to do decide who gets what and how much??

The chances of me and my family getting obliterated is totally slim hopefully but every now and then I read a horror story of a family being wiped out in a car crash etc and it gets me thinking.

WWYD??

I’ve heard similar about charities being entitled pains in the arse if named in a will, so there are none in mine. I give to charity in life, not death. If my beneficiaries want to donate in my name that’s fine.

This happened to a family relatively local to me, on a road I drive daily. My will states it will be left to charity if I, DH and the children are wiped out.

You can put my name down, if you like.

We just have to make sure we don't travel on the same planes, trains and automobiles.

Thank you.

I read elsewhere that leaving even a small percentage to a charity causes problems.

Mine is going to the children of some of my cousins, the ones that I’m still in touch with,

Also my nephews through my late husband.

DH’s kids and grandchild got their inheritance from him and a bit extra from both of us. They went NC after he died, do I doubt they’ll be expecting any.

At the risk of being even more morbid, have you thought about who you'd want to look after one of your DC if they were the only survivor of a terrible accident that wiped out you and DH? A relative of mine has just done her will and as well as the finances, it also covered who would look after her DC if she died.

I don't know if it's the same accident that @LondonQueen is referring to but there's just been an awful tragic accident on a road near me where both parents and 2 of 3 DC were killed leaving an orphaned 10 YO. It's been reported that she is going to live with her Aunt, but if you don't have a good relationship with your siblings then this might not be what you'd want should the worst happen.

@AbraAbraCadabra I have DM'd you.

It wasn't a badly written will. It is possible the testator had forgotten the details of a will written 20 years earlier.

It wasn't a massive estate however the charity was quite happy to pursue their claim and didn't care about the hurt they caused.

Ours wills leave 50% to nieces and nephews and remaining 50% to be split between two charities.

No children of my own, but my late husband had a daughter and granddaughter.

DH got angry at me, because I asked him whether his daughter and her partner had made provision for their child. (DH also had a son and I assumed that the daughter would want her brother and SIL to have guardianship. However, the partner had an adult daughter who seemed a bit obsessed with her baby sister and she really was not the most sensible of people.)

Well, the daughter's partner died suddenly. Fortunately she was (and still is) in good health. It turned out that the partner hadn't even made a will, in spite of being 20 yrs her senior: "We didn't expect anything to happen."

Foolish.

Thanks for DMing. Obviously won’t share details here but to me that was the fault of the will not the charity. Regardless of whatever hurt might be caused executors should follow the will. They can’t just decide not to do that. So I can see why the charity acted as they did in this circumstance tbh.

Thanks everyone for your replies, very helpful. I've contacted a lawyer to get the ball rolling on this and finally get it done!

Oh, now I won't leave anything to a charity.