General Chat

Yes you do need to make a will. my m-i l was marrried twice but her children were from her 1st marriage so she left everything to her 2 sons and her 2nd husband got nothing When our daughter was divorced the solicitor suggested she made a will ,and said it would be unwise to make us the grandparents legal guardians in case of her death So she chose her brother and sister to act for her Unfortunatly he died so she had to revise her will. We have had to do as well his share will now be divided amonsgt our 6 grandchildren Bren .

Not only make a will, but make enduring powers of attorney. If you should 'lose your marbles' it spells out who will handle your finances (in one case) and your personal details in another. My OH and I have recently appointed our son to the position. It needs to be somebody you trust to do what you would want, and not take all your money for themselves. And the person must agree to do it, of course. Dont leave it, because you cant make an EPA after you have 'lost it'.

When my son was young, as a single parent I got legal aid to sort out a Guardianship thingy (not a will) naming my friends as those I would entrust to look after my son and they agreed it and signed it. I asked about making a will leaving everything to my son but the solicitor said 'what if you both died together' who would you leave the house and such to then and I never did get round to sorting that out. Now my son is 24, the insurance on the house is for him, i.e. if I die before the mortgage is paid up, then the insurance pays it and the house goes to my son, but I haven't done anything else, and there is still a possibility we could 'go' together, heaven forbid, so I still have the problem of who would benefit from the little I have. Well it is all bricks and mortar, but I wouldn't leave anything except family stuff to my brothers, as they have never done much for me or my son and don't make any effort to stay in touch except at Christmas. Local solicitors have an offer on at the mo for free wills, I think it is through Barnardos or some charity, in the hope you will leave them something, so I should decide soon and sort this out I guess.

Purple Poinsettia - if you both die and you haven't made a will, then the law decides who inherits from you and, if your parents are dead, your brothers will be given it all.

did ours about 5 years ago remember coming out of solicitors very depressed ,thought i was going to die ,but i'm still here .our next idea is to buy a funeral plan but the thought of choosing my own coffin really freaks me . Dot xx

Many thanks for all your replies,they have been most helpful, Caz xxx

Inheritance always goes marital partner, children, siblings then parents, so if one partner dies everything goes to the survivor. If both partners die together everything that they own individually goes to their respective children (or siblings if no child exists) equally -adopted children as treated as biological children these days. I haven't made a legally binding will so everything I own will be property of my brother if I was to die. I guess I should make one because I want to ensure that my cousins are provided for as well as my brother. But saying that may parents don't have a will - they have a contract with 2 of my uncles and an aunt that in the event of my parents deaths my aunt and uncles will be the executors of our estate (so to speak) until all us children have turned 18, mum's eldest brother will also be legal guardian - my little brother is 16 so the contract is almost irrelevant.

Carol I made my first out my first will when I was mid 20s. Updated it a few times since. Made OH make one out after we'd been together for about 3 years - as we aren't married I wanted my future secured. I get on well with his family now but you never know how people react when they lose a loved one. T.O.R. ;o))

Carol you should make one asap then the law will know your wishes are otherwise it is left to total stranger to sort out your youngsters lives it is not being morbid just sensible xxx god willing they wont want it used for a long time xxxxHowie

Aunty Mary, thanks - no way would I want my bros to benefit at all, so must get round to making the will soon. Liz

interesting subject as oh and I cant agree who should get what so we havent done anything about it yet, A friend of ours recently lost a family member and he has been given the job by the solicitor to contact any living relatives as there was no will but quite a large estate. Proving very difficult to trace them and costing quite a bit in certificates however he will get refunded from the estate but at this rate there wont be much left.

If it puts your mind at rest Carol, my OH and I made our wills more than 15 years ago, and we are still treading this earth......good idea.....

its not morbid love , ive always prayed that my youngest will be at least 16 if god forbid some thing should happen.

This has given me the push I needed...Thanks Caz. Co-habiting with 5 children between us puts us all in a very bad position. Co-habiting is not seen as a legal partnership. Tina x

Glad it has, Tina Marie, me too, 7 kids between us and some not talking to others etc etc would mean an awful mess would be left behind, Ive just made my appointment, Thanks so much everyone, Caz xxx