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MNHQ

Tell Co-op Legal Services about your experiences with making a will - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

307 replies

EmmaMumsnet · 05/09/2017 17:21

If you and your partner have children together, thinking ahead to a time when the unimaginable has happened and both you and your partner have passed away, leaving your child (or children) in need of a Legal Guardian, is an awful conversation to think about, let alone have. However, Co-op Legal Services know that if you make formal arrangements in relation to a will, you are able to name the Legal Guardians of your children instead of the Court making a decision you might not have wished for. With that in mind, Co-op Legal Services would like to know your experiences with making a will.

James Antoniou, Head of Wills at Co-op Legal Services, says: “As parents, we recognise the need to protect our children throughout our lifetimes. Making a will and providing for guardianship is an extension of that protection, ensuring that our wishes are clear about who will be responsible for their upbringing.

If you are interested in starting your wills journey with the Co-op, start your will online now"

Do you currently have a will? Or is it still an ongoing process? How did you go about making some of the important decisions that a will requires? Do you have the conversations surrounding a will with your family?

So whether you’ve set up one already or looking to begin making one, share your experiences below and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks, and good luck

MNHQ

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Tell Co-op Legal Services about your experiences with making a will - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
madge47 · 12/09/2017 21:54

I need to make a will just havent got round to it!

andbabymakesthree · 12/09/2017 21:57

I just think we have nothing to put it in.i suppose we ought to do it though!

sbruin1122 · 12/09/2017 23:33

Wills are difficult to write but an incredibly important part of life.

CordeliaScott · 13/09/2017 04:11

I do not currently have a will and know that I need to get one but it's something that seems to keep taking a back seat as DH will get it all under intestacy anyway

noplease · 13/09/2017 07:57

We made a will recently as we wanted to put in place who would be guardian to our child if anything happened to us both. We didn't want to leave it to someone else to decide. We used an online company to do a mirror will, it was very easy and straight forward.

smithsurvey14 · 13/09/2017 21:52

Been married for 26 years and been meaning to make a will for 26 years. We keep saying that we need to make one but it keeps being pushed down the to do list. Not sure who to choose to look after the children as our parents are getting too old and our siblings do not seem suitable, I suppose our eldest turns 18 this year so she would be the one to look after our youngest.

KittyKat88 · 13/09/2017 23:04

I have started making a will but it's still in draft form as I do worry about who will be the best person to look after my DDs if something happened to me and/or my DH.

oliveoyl72 · 13/09/2017 23:58

My best friend died at an early age without a will - her partner and family then entered a very bitter legal battle which dragged on for 3 years. I think not only the battle, but the end result wouldn't have been what she'd wanted.

So I made a will, a very specific will, and nominated someone I believe I can trust to execute it properly.

If you don't, it can be very unfair and unpleasant for those left behind.

SandysMam · 14/09/2017 07:22

I feel terrible to say I haven't made one yet. It just seems like something "grown ups" do and also I worry it will cost several hundred pounds. It is the ultimate put off and there needs to be a simple service aimed at busy 30 something's who always have something better to do or something else to spend money on. I literally have no idea where to start.

AnneElliott · 14/09/2017 08:55

We did mirror wills when I was pregnant with DS. Found it simple and glad we did it.

sootyo · 14/09/2017 09:53

we did ours before children, stating guardians ( who we asked in advance ).

Feargalthecat · 14/09/2017 18:42

We don't have but know we really should especially since we have a disabled child who will need lifelong care. I am very organised in most other aspects of life but somehow haven't got round to this I think it's probably the costs that put me off.

hareagain · 14/09/2017 19:40

On the to do list. Had deaths in the family recently and still put off tackling it.

nerysw · 14/09/2017 19:48

Massively ashamed that I haven't made one, neither has my husband. In other areas I'm really good at financial planning but seem to have a blind spot to this and need to sort it out.

Netty50 · 14/09/2017 19:51

Used a local solicitor - cost c£300 and was a very basic service. After having just lost my brother, I feel that at the time of making a will there should be scope to say a few personal requests like music at a funeral, ashes, etc. Not all final requests are monetary but are still important.

RainbowHash · 14/09/2017 20:10

Disaster! Had a will financial specialist come to our house for a meeting and to go through the particulars. Took over an hour. Never heard from him again! Maybe our assets weren't at his usual volume! And now I can't be bothered so we're without. Whoops.

SanFranBear · 14/09/2017 20:16

I made my will after separating from my ExH. It had been on my mind for a while but that brought it front of mind as I wanted to protect my 'estate' (for what it's worth) and ensure it was there for my DC only.

Obviously, it was also important that if ExH was to predecease me, I gave serious consideration as to the future and wellbeing of my DC who are still so young. I made the decision without running it past ExH as 1) I think he'd have agreed on my choice and 2) if he outlives me, it becomes null & void (for all his awfulness as a partner, he's a pretty good dad Wink)

Tough decision but so so important!

dannydog1 · 14/09/2017 21:30

My husband died suddenly when my children were young and luckily we had made a will. I then had to consider Legal guardians in case anything happened to me. Close friends agreed to to do this. I obviously found the whole process upsetting but the solicitor was great and I felt relieved afterwards knowing that I had everything in place.

OnMyShoulders · 14/09/2017 22:11

We haven't done one yet. I feel awful about this as we've been married for 16 years and have 5 DC. The DC are the issue though. I can't bring myself to nominate anyone to look after them in the event of our death. When we had our eldest DC, we felt that my oldest friend of 30+ years would be the best fit in terms of lifestyle and parenting styles. We discussed this with she and her husband and they agreed, but then we kept having bloody kids and she has since had 3 of her own. How could I saddle her with 8 DC? Shock

Glovebug · 14/09/2017 23:52

DH and I started working through the paperwork about 10 years ago but never finished it off so we still don't have wills. It was one of these services that we got through our bank account and to be honest I just found it all confusing and didn't know what to put down. Could have done with more support really throughout the process

queenoftheschoolrun · 15/09/2017 08:19

We eventually sorted out our wills using the services of a lovely Mumsnetter several years ago. It wasn't expensive and she was really helpful and made us think about various scenarios we hadn't contemplated. It had been on my to do list for years and I felt such a sense of relief when it was finally done!

tillymint21 · 15/09/2017 13:50

We did mirror wills 10 years ago when we moved house. We had been putting it off for years and the house move meant we were dealing with solicitors anyway. I felt much better for having done it and it was much easier than I thought.

boobybirdsworth · 15/09/2017 15:07

Wills all sorted, I don't want my family having to deal with having to obtain probate at such a stressful time. Who gets what was also discussed with everyone so it's all in the open and no arguments about who gets what. I like to be prepared :)

InMySpareTime · 15/09/2017 15:46

We have mirror wills, the man from the Co-op came round to talk us through it all. The hardest bit was choosing who'd get our little horrors darlings should we both peg it. Well worth getting it done, if only for the peace of mind that it's one less thing to worry about in case of bereavement (either mine, or DH if I predecease him). Good to have thought about where we want it all to go.

JS06 · 15/09/2017 18:51

We recently updated our will as we wanted to change executors.

It was relatively straightforward but, in doing so, it highlighted we needed to put in place some trust arrangements for the future to deal with finances. That was helpful advice.

The chap who gave us the advice from a wills service slightly annoyed me with the patronising hushed tone he used as though we were already in a funeral situation. That was ok though, it made me focus and move on quickly. I did challenge some stereotypes examples which I was given in terms of what I might like to include in my will. One example was that 'ladies often like to gift their jewellery to their daughter'. I was irritated by the breathless tone of the meeting and said that I considered that an asset, jewellery or otherwise, was equally valuable to a son or a daughter so would not be making those sorts of bequests. It's difficult to get a one answer fits all to the considerations to be taken into account for a will so I accept I'm not necessarily an ideal customer. What I was surprised, and pleased about was that I specifically focussed on the funeral situation. I knew instantly that I didn't want one, that I didn't want there to be any announcements or entries in the newspaper. No 'ham tea' sort of carry on either. Just the quickest cremation with only husband and children if they fancy a trip out but otherwise absolutely nothing. I know this is unusual but I was glad of the chance to be specific and have it noted. I've told the family, they think I'm odd but hey ho.