making your will

[cappy]

##guess most of us on site hopefully have made a will ....it need not be expensive but can save many pounds and much time later on for family in general......as if no will is made the procedure for family to share any inheritance can be extremely long timewise some two years ago we were contacted by a company who specialise in finding lost relatives a seen on the tele of late .......we did not know this person existed but we were full beneficiaries of .of a property in the south of england and substancial funds .......but the time taken by solicitors and other persons looking for further family has taken over two years ......as you can imagine this also takes funds and searches.for others is not inexpensive ...it is an easy thing to say i will do it later but ......sometimes it is too late......just a thought ..be safe make sure the ones you want too get your lifes work ...cappy

[robpage]

I used the CO-OP lega;l services cost me £120 was pleased with their service

[Captain Kong]

We went to Age Concern, booked an appointment and then met the Solicitor there,

£30 pounds each, Excellent Service,

[Doc Vernon]

Most here use the Public Trustee .they are free to a point but do take a small % on winding up Estates etc! But worth it!
Cheers

[Rodney Mills]

Good thread Cappy. I hope all without a will take your advise.

My wife and I both have a will plus what is called here a 'living will'.

It is important to designate/ give a 'power of attorney' to, if you are, say, splitting your assets up between children/beneficiaries rather than to a single child/beneficiary. I've seen and heard of terrible arguments and close knit families busting up over the divvy of the spoils, even over furniture. We have someone with the power of attorney to handle ours and to pass on special bequeaths. Don't get me wrong this is not due to a large estate like Trump has, but things like paintings we want to give to someone who's special to us, but who are not family members. An attorney is not that expensive for a regular will but it's important it's done right.

In the case of my late mother-in-law's estate, prior to her terminal sickness, her three children agreed that my wife should have the power of attorney for their mother and my wife would be the executrix of the estate. She paid out the bills after her death, collected insurances etc. and divided the estate. No problems. I had bought a ledger and kept a set of books listing incoming and outgoing receipts and expenses,balancing it down to the penny. As it was it went smoothly and not one of the brothers and sisters or grandchildren raised any questions, but I'm a suspicious barsteward and it's better to be safe than sorry.

Take Cappies' sound advise and at least get a will and make your final wishes clear.

A 'living will' is a document that covers our wishes to not be resuscitated and kept alive if brain dead or in the last stages of a terminal illness, things like that. Both my wife and I have 'power of attorney' over each other and the 'living will' covers us both if it's a case of both of us badly injured and comatose at the same time. It is also part of our medical records with doctors.

[robpage]

Talking to a solicitor one day and realising that solicitors love nothing more than earning money we were discussing Wills and he said he regularly makes more money from people who hasn't left a will who wrote there own will then he ever has made from writing one that was enough incentive for me to get a will written

[Stan Carter]

Hi Rodney, pretty much the same here.
regards, stan

[happy daze john in oz]

Here in Oz you can go to the newsagent and get a Legal Will form.
It is a simplified way of leaving one and covers all aspects of such.

We have written our own, and despite some saying otherwise you do not need a solicitor to run it up or witness it.
Any one f substance, JP, Pharmasist, Registered Financial Advisor are amongst the one who may witness.

We have an either or, who ever goes first leaves it to the second and when that one goes the funds will be split 50/50 to those on the original wills of each.

There was a case back in the 70's where a man lay dying and scrawled his last will on the back of a cereal box. It was challenged as being invalid, but the court ruled otherwise.

[j.sabourn]

John, we have our wills made out and deposited with a solicitor, but was deeply disturbed recently when a friend who had the same set up as me died. His wife had all the joint bank accounts frozen until certain extra paperwork was done. We phoned up the solicitor and where we though were safe as regards one partner always having money available learned this is not so. Whether they have fiddled with the laws or not I don’t know, but wouldn’t surprise me in the least as is about par for the course when it comes to useless politicians fiddling and fixing when something isn’t broken. But when you die as far as we could find out over the phone the power of attorney ceases to exist until other formalities are gone through. We were advised to speak to our bank about it. Which we intend to do soon. Maybe the back of the cereal packet is where the government got the he idea for the new certification for maritime purposes maybe thought they would carry more weight in a court of law. Cheers JS

[cappy]

John, we have our wills made out and deposited with a solicitor, but was deeply disturbed recently when a friend who had the same set up as me died. His wife had all the joint bank accounts frozen until certain extra paperwork was done. We phoned up the solicitor and where we though were safe as regards one partner always having money available learned this is not so. Whether they have fiddled with the laws or not I don’t know, but wouldn’t surprise me in the least as is about par for the course when it comes to useless politicians fiddling and fixing when something isn’t broken. But when you die as far as we could find out over the phone the power of attorney ceases to exist until other formalities are gone through. We were advised to speak to our bank about it. Which we intend to do soon. Maybe the back of the cereal packet is where the government got the he idea for the new certification for maritime purposes maybe thought they would carry more weight in a court of law. Cheers JS

john i have seen this situation ..but the banks are not so unhelpfull ..ie all bills etc can be paid as neccesary ......but would suggest each partner has access to a completly separate cash facility ...which can be used while the affairs of the other are sorted......ps hang on dont go yet you owe three and ninepence ....cappy