Don't know where to start with writing my Will - any advice?

[MrsSteveBackshall]

I need to set up a Will. I have an old one, but it was written when I was still with XP, and I don't want things going to him any more.

It's a bit complicated, though, because I am currently the sole shareholder of a business which is in the process of being closed. So if I write a Will now, the business still exists - but won't soon, IYSWIM. Then I'll have some capital for a while, which I'm planning to invest in paying for a house for DS and I. So in a year or two, we won't be talking a cash sum, we'll be talking about property. So my financial circumstances are likely to change quite a bit over the next few years, thereby making obsolete a Will that I make now.

Do I get one written up now and then another and then another? (Expensive!) My friend has had hers done such that, by paying about £30 a year, she and her husband can make changes whenever they wish for no further cost. Anyone else done this?

And at the moment, my financial advisor is walking me through the process, but the Mumsnet consensus (I looked back over some old threads) seems to be to consult a decent solicitor. What's best? My estate will likely go over the Inheritance Tax threshold, so I could probably do with an accountant's advice too. Where to start?!

As for financing DS's upbringing (he's six), I have a life assurance policy with XP, and since we're fairly unlikely to die together, shall I stick with that and not make any additional provision for paying for DS?

Also, I don't have a clue who to ask to be executors, power of attorney, guardians, etc. I have good friends - but they're not going to want to be burdened with this, surely? And my brother lives overseas. I'm feeling stumped!

Thanks for any advice.

There are very straightforward DIY wills you can get that work for people with small estates and uncomplicated circumstances. However, I think in your case it would be better not to do it on the cheap because it sounds like you have significant assets and some custody issues to worry about- i.e. you will have to include some quite big contingencies such as "If I die and XP is also dead, then X will be my son's guardian but if XP is still alive then......" (I'm assuming XP is DS's father- apologies if that's not the case).

I wouldnt worry about how your assets are held since if you intend to bequeath everything to DS then it's enough to say "I bequeath my entire estate to DS". You may then list other gifts/ donations by exception (eg £10000 to the RNLI or whatever).

An IFA should be clued up enough on IHT to not require you to see an accountant as well(if you do make sure you pick one that is an IHT specialist). There are ways to safeguard assets but you need to weigh up complexity/ restrictions vs your potential tax bill.

Re executor, you can just name a solicitor but I would avoid this if at all possible as they have no incentive to work fast (their client's dead after all) and it can suck cash out of your estate. I would speak to your brother. He can always appoint a solicitor if, at the time, he feels like he cant deal with it. However, keeping your affairs in really good order helps executors a lot (i.e. spreadsheets detailing all your accounts/ assets), file correspondance properly etc, dont get behind with tax dealings.

Hope this helps

ps, check the terms of your life assurance. If you took it out with XP it may be that it automatically pays out the surviving partner in the event of your death. Worse still, it might be contingent on you being "a couple" so might not pay out at all.

Therefore you might be better off switching into a sole policy.

I do not know of any life assurance that depends on you being a couple before it pays out. If you are the named beneficiary then it will pay you out. If you are reliant on xp for income then the life assurance would make sense as if he died you would have something to replace his income.

Hi, I'm a freelance willwriter in addition to working p/t in high street practices for the last 20 years.

You can make a will now which will not be invalidated just because the nature of your assets changes. The will will refer to all of your personal business and property assets whatsoever in your ownership at the date of your death.

So far as Inheritance Tax planning is concerned, you are liable to pay 40% on everything over the current threshold of £325k (as a single person) however you can minimise your liability by way of potentially exempt transfers and other gifts. As I presume you're quite young and in good health, it would probably be more appropriate for you NOT to dispose of assets to minimise your liability at this stage.

Regarding the level of life insurance you have for your ds, of course you need to think about what other assets you may have to bolster the death benefit.

It is likely that the policy will be administered as a separate trust and therefore not counted in for Inheritance Tax purposes.

Re. appointment of guardians and executors, the golden rule is to have an element of arms length, ie the guardians should ideally not be the executors (aka trustees).

If you'd like further info I'd be happy to give you a quote for writing your will. As I'm freelance my charges are roughly half of what I charge in my day job. My email address is [email protected]

Hi, for what it's worth, I will add a few points to those already made which i hope won't make things more confusing.

As far as a will is concerned, you want to keep clear of DIY wills you can buy off the shelf at Smiths. Anecdotal evidence is that solicitors make more money out of sorting out badly written DIY wills than they do by you consulting them for a will in the first place.

Whilst an IFA (make sure he/she is 'Independent' rather than working for a bank or such like) should be able to advise you on your IHT situation, they aren't normally legally qualified, so for your will, you should see a specialist/solicitor. However, try to avoid using solicitors and the bank as executors as the costs can be high and as has been suggested, they may not be the quickest movers.

I'm not sure you need to worry too much about your IHT situation at the moment though.

An IFA should be able to advise on the life assurance situation. You need to consider that with the existing plan being in joint names, if you were to die first while the policy is still in force, the insurance company would automatically make any payment to your XP and he could then spend it as he wanted. There is no guarantee that the money would be used to help look after DS. I think you need to consider ditching the joint policy, (unless XP wants to pick up the payments) and take out a policy just on you but in trust for DS.

You do need to give some serious though to a guardian and a power of attorney in case you were to die whilst DS is a minor.

Hope that helps a bit.

Thank you all for lots of helpful advice. mumblechum, I'll bear you in mind. Over the next few days, I'll be brainstorming what I want to include in my will, talking to XP (who is DS's dad) about elements that are relevant to DS/him, talking to friends and family about their willingness to be named as trustees/guardians/executors, and seeing my IFA on Tuesday. Then I'll see where I'm at after that.

XP and I have a life assurance policy which was taken out after we separated, and works such that if I die, XP gets a pay-out to help raise DS, and if XP dies, I get the pay-out. This applies up until DS is old enough to look after himself, and since it was set up after we separated, I am guessing our not being together is no issue at all. I do need to look into if anyone (i.e. a guardian other than XP and I) would get any money if we both died, to help raise DS; I don't know how that would work. I'll speak to my IFA Tuesday. Good point about XP being able to spend the life assurance money on what he likes, not necessarily DS. Hmm.

Most of my assets are cash currently being extracted from a business. I intend to invest these in my house over the next few years, so the house is paid for. This will mean that my main asset will be my home, which is likely to be worth a little over £325,000. If I died and left this to DS, would he then have to find the money to pay the IHT on it if he wanted to stay in it? I guess I could gift this to him beforehand - put it in a trust for this purpose, or something. Hmm. Do children under 18 have to pay IHT? I have so many questions! Will see how Tuesday goes.

Thanks again. Your posts have been really helpful and are making me think - which is good!

Hi Mrs SB

So far as the Guardian's expenses are concerned, I normally insert a clause just after the appointment of the Guardian to say that the Trustees pay the Guardian their expenses so that they aren't out of pocket. The Trustees have to agree, which is why it's important to have separate guardians and trustees, otherwise there's always the danger that the Guardian could dip into the trust fund for their own purposes.

So far as IHT on the value of the house is concerned, if you state that your dc will inherit at 18, no IHT is payable. If at 21, then some is payable on a sliding scale (roughly 6-9% rather than 40%.)

I would be wary of what you leave and how you leave anythin to any charity as well if that is relevant to you.

Try Googling "rspca dr gill" to get an idea of why.

If you are off to a solicitor, you should be able to deal with this sort of thing before any benificiary gets stitched up.