Making a will

minimeeze

minimeeze

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Cheryl
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Now that I have assets (no, not those ones!), I thought I had better make a will as my mum appears to think that she will automatically get everything as my next of kin, leaving my poor boyfriend homeless (as 'our' house is actually 'my' house).

Anyway, I just wanted to ask... is it complicated to make a will? Any tips of what I should be putting in it (apart from the obvious)? I've never done this before...:help: :runaway:

Oh, and apparently I'm eligible for a free will making service via my job :D
 
NOpe it is relatively painless. It is worth paying a lawyer to do it correctly because you don't want there to be fights if anything were to happen. You also may want to look into a living will (It is called something different in the UK) that basically lays out when you wnat them to pull the plug. Keeps the battles out of court that way.
 
It's very straightforward - but you should take advantage of the free offer as this will (no pun intended) no doubt be drawn up by a solicitor. Don't forget as your circumstances change over the years you can make a new will as often as you like. The most recent will always takes precedence. Best of luck.
 
h.r.ford said:
It is worth paying a lawyer to do it correctly because you don't want there to be fights if anything were to happen.
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I must agree with this. I heard a thing on the radio a few weeks back about wills, and it was saying there are very subtle changes in the wording that could make a huge difference to the out come.

Use the free will service from your job.
 
Greg said:
The most recent will always takes precedence. Best of luck.
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That's because the first sentence to any will starts with "my name is John Smith and I hereby revoke any will made prior to this ...etc" In better English of course, I only had 6 classes in probate in law school and a bit rusty.

The whole process is very painless. All you need to think about is who gets what and how much or %.

It's best to be specific, I can't stress this enough.

Don't say my mum will get the house and cousin gets 50% of my remainder of my estate. How exactly is 50% divided? Someone is going to fight over that Piano or that dress or even some glasses.

So say A gets item x, B gets gets item y and C gets all remainder....etc and etc.
 
Agreed, totally painless is a good solicitor is used. My other half recently re-did his, for similar reasons, we are not married, and the assets are quite substantial [even if the bank account is bloody empty :lol:], so the will is quite indepth in terms of what happens if just he goes, or if we both go [splits between our various kids, etc], but with good advice from a knowledgeable solicitor, it was easy enough.
 
If the worst happens (god forbid) do you want your boyfriend to let his new girlfriend move into your home. Maybe something saying he can live there for so many months/years before the house is turned over to your family.
 
I went to a solicitor, they will ask you all the right questions and draw one up for you, you can even have clauses in it to say if 'x' or 'y' happens you want things split a different way!!! keep all covered from different angles! good luck x x x
 
Very important thing, since you are currently childless and unmarried your next of kin IS going to get eveything according to the laws of Intestacy. Don't wait, **** happens (I know).
 
wills are high on our priority so this thread is interesting....wish we had a free service like you! :)
 
Have a look at this web site Cheryl. My mother was going to get a solicitor to draft a will for her, then she discovered these people. The will cost her a fraction of what her solicitor quoted, is just as valid in law and she did it all online! Have a read of the "should I use a solicitor" section on their web site.
 
Just be really careful about services. The uk law on wills is much tougher than here in America and really one wrong word and you're screwed. I think this is one area that spending the money on a solicitor is well warranted. No I'm not a lawyer.
 
Marianne said:
wills are high on our priority so this thread is interesting....wish we had a free service like you! :)
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A will shouldn't be that expensive to have drawn up, mine was only about £40 but it was a fairly simple one, I suppose the longer you spend explaining it to the lawyer the more it'll be.
 
I used an online/phone service which was really good. They called me, I told them exactlly what I wanted and they sent me the written wills be e-mail. It was a lot cheaper than my local solicitor and quicker too. PM me if you want me to dig out the details...
 
You know what they say about a 'little knowledge being a dangerous thing'. I'm not saying you won't get a good service from a non-legal source, but just remember your will is a very important document and make sure all angles are properly covered. Because of my own professional experience I would be quite capable of drawing up my own will - however I entrusted it to my solicitor.
 
I have just been doing looking at the same thing on the will front, very thought provoking document

Some things are that now a beneficiary can also be your executor so best to let direct family do the executing.

Next get the doc stored somewhere safe (a solicitors) about 100.00 and tell those that need to know the name and address.

Remember anything of 250k in worth will get clobbered inheritence tax so not only see a solicitor but make sure they understand putting in trust, remember the total worth includes it all, assets, life insurance etc etc. this and any other government gets enough, if it aint assigned THEY get it !!!!!!!! :nono:
 
Making a Will is rarely a bad idea, but if you own property and have a partner/spouse or wish to avoid Inheritance Tax (£300k BTW not £250k and life insurance isn't a problem), Long Term Care fees or your spouse/partner's new hubby/wife getting it all instead of your kids, what's called a Disinheritance - you need to see a specialist and use Trusts

If you don't you're wasting your time & money

Oh, and if you use Wills & Trusts and are spending less than £500 on the advice - it's probably wrong

My opinion anyway - you get what you pay for
 
Joe T said:
Just remember, where there's a will, there's a way. :)
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Or more to the point....where there's a will there's a relative ;)
 
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