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Original poster

Is there any point in making a will in our scenario?

53 replies

aWillQn · 16/10/2026 12:41

DH and I own a house with approx 75% LTV mortgage.

One child.

No savings. I have a couple of grand in shares.

If I die, DH is named on my pension and will get my death in service grant. If DH dies, I am named on his pension.

I don’t see the point of a will - if I died tomorrow surely my 12.5% ownership of the house simply goes to DH? And vice versa?

OP posts:
MinnieMountain · 16/10/2026 20:23

Actuaries are great at parties @Mumoftwoteenagers . I'm married to one.

Powers of attorney can absolutely be done yourself. The government designed it that way. You fill in the form on a .gov website, print it and follow the instructions for signing.

Which reminds me...

Original poster
aWillQn · 16/10/2026 20:54

Mumoftwoteenagers · 16/10/2026 17:36

I’m an actuary so extra fun at parties! Off the top of my head…..

Do you have death in service payouts with your work and pensions. If so “dead you” could be worth a lot more than “live you”.
Do you have life insurance on your house? Decreasing term assurance is often surprisingly cheap.
Who do you want to care for your son if you both die. (And more importantly - is there anyone you really don’t want to?) Who do you want to control your son’s money until he is 18 if you both die? There may be more than you think with two “dead
yous”.
Do you want your son to get all the money left on his 18th birthday? Will he still be at school then?
What if all three of you die? If you all die in a car crash and are dead before the emergency services get there then they will assume the youngest one died last. Ie you son. So he will inherit everything and it will then be split between all 4 of his grandparents. However, if one of you manages to survive until the ambulance gets there then they died last and so inherit everything. So if your husband dies in the ambulance whilst you and your son died in the car then your death on service policy will go to his parents. Yours will get nothing.

Say what!

I mean, if I wasn’t already convinced, then this post would have done it.

OP posts:
Original poster
aWillQn · 16/10/2026 20:55

This has been a really enlightening and important thread. Thanks all. I’ll look into the decreasing term insurance, too. Would a broker be able to get better rates?

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