Wills and Trusts

[joesmumlovesyoga]

Hi all - I made a will and trust last year for my 22 year old with autism and am at a point now where I think I need to change it. We have a scattered family and he has no siblings, so we made some relatives trustees. TBH, In hindsight, I don't think they're up to the job and show very little interest in him now, let alone we're dead and gone. I'm thinking of other more professional trustees - maybe Mencap ? Has anybody done similar. I'm in my 50's so really need to get this sorted :-(

I went to a presentation by Mencap to see how their package worked in practice and also investigated a DIY approach.

The Mencap scheme is cheaper and you have to include a donation to them.
The DIY way has to be done by a solicitor in the STEP
organisation. www.step.org/about-step/public

It all hinges on whether the beneficiary has capacity, I believe my relative has, so I didn't pursue it.

Hopefully Mencap may have an online presentation of their services - they should - as it's not feasible to attend local ones

Thanks BlankTimes- I recently went on an online presentation by MENCAP, hence the interest in a professional trustee. I suppose it's a difficult avenue to pursue - as you'll never witness it in action as you're dead when it kicks in- :-( I'll have a look the STEP link......

Hi @joesmumlovesyoga
Sorry I am only now responding but just seen your post.

Our dd has severe learning difficulties and is severely autistic. She too is an only child - now adult a little older than your DS - and similarly we had no-one we could trust sufficiently plus, to be fair, it will be a full time job for anyone.

We had new wills drawn up with our solicitor and set up a Trust fund with Mencap. This was quite a few years ago now but the total cost was £305 then - plus solicitor costs for new wills of course - and leaving something in your will to Mencap was merely a suggestion and not compulsory.

We have been very pleased overall! They contact us every couple of years to check we are still happy and if we need to change anything.
When both of us die, so long as dd outlives us, Mencap Trust will work in conjunction with our solicitors who are our executors and they will visit dd every so often to ensure she is still happy and well cared for.
Also, don’t forget Mencap Trust will know everything your dc is entitled to with regards to benefits so will be better informed as to whether to grant sums of money for things.

It has certainly given us peace of mind since.

Thanks so much for this - really helps. We paid a blooming fortune for our will with the trusts incorporated and to be honest, it's so complex, I can't understand much of it. I may contact the solicitor that made the presentation for Mencap and ask her to re-write. Thanks again and all the best to you and your family ....

You too @joesmumlovesyoga and if you need any more info please don’t hesitate to ask.