We all reach that age in our lives when we have to think about Dying …well to be more precise…Wills…so i am looking for views, or advice even as to what route to take, so i will explain.
My wife and i aint exactly loaded, but weve a few quid in the bank, and we own our own house..also got one abroad but it doesnt come under English laws/rules or even wills..so the cruxt of the matter is this, I researched a few bits and bobs about making a will..so I opted for a will, that when one of us pops our clogs..the other will inherit everything we have shared or owned together over the years..so after my search discovered that the cost can vary from £30 - £200..anyway i opted for a £30..and contacted them..they took a few details and booked a telephone conversation for today at 12.30..in the meantime, my wife was reluctant to give personal details over the phone..we had a few words..then in a huff i said..well when they call..you answer the phone..cos i want nothing to do with it..and went out into the garden..the phone rang..she answered it, and then brought the phone to me..i had to explain to the man that my wife was a bit apprehensive..giving details to a company she didnt know etc etc..he did understand though but proceeded to ask a couple of questions..how many children..who are the beneficiaries..etc etc, and told me what i needed to do with regards to a will.It was agreed that if one of us dies, the estate will go to the survivor..we also said that after the survivors death, the estate will be shared with my 2 daughters from a previous, + the daughter we have together. and then the other half of the estate will be shared between the other 2 daughters + the one we have together..so its like a 50% share between 3..+ a 50% share between 3 seeing as there is 5 children or beneficiaries, all of that is clear..BUT..as he pointed out, after one of us dies, there is nothing to stop the other changing the will to what they want to do, and if either one got another partner or re-married, then they could be part of the share. The obvious answer he said, was to put the estate into a trust, wher no one except those in the will can benefit, and no memeber can go to court to get their share whilst one of us is still alive, forcing them to vacate the property in a sale, in order for the greedy ones to get their hands on theirshare .. Like i said a trust fund is the way forward to protect everyone..But on reading the companies appraisals on their website, i noticed that some were saying that they had to pay a lot more than they bargained for..in one case £2000..in another £500..and there was mention of: Power of attorney ..in another a Health power of attorney ` all had to be paid for separately…and there was me thinking i could get it all done for £30…silly me…Your help is needed: 1. Do i need a power of attorney ■■..2. Can i make a will and keep it in the draw…or hand it to one of the family as executor ( my view really )…or is there another way to leave you assets behind fairly, and at a good price ( whatever that is ) or if you want to discuss 3. What have YOU done with regards to a will…I thank you all in anticipation.
Whoever is left out of the pair of gets the lot, if we both go together then the 3 kids get a third each of all our estate, my Dad and her Mum get nothing as they are both well off and basically don’t need any more money at their age, her brother and my brother are executors of the will.
I can’t remember the technical legality of it all and costs involved as it was made about 15 yrs ago .
When I lived there I made a will on my own, I went to a stationers and bought a self will kit, all you do is fill it out and get a couple of people to witness your signature, then leave it with someone you trust to keep it safe and reveal it at the time of your demise.
I am bewildered by the system here, my wife got the documents printed off and had the nerve to actually fill it in, I made some alterations, we took it to the state office to get it witnessed.
See a Solicitor face to face they will go through everything with you,and deal with everything for you,its not cheap as you have found out
Power of Attorney,Executors,Trust funds,etc etc all you do is fill in any paper work they send you and send it back
Peace of mind for around £1500
Agree, solicitor is the way to go.
Our is slightly complicated as our children are by previous spouses, so we wanted it certain that in the event one of us dies that no way could the earlier parentless children be ‘‘done’’ out of anything.
Don’t get me wrong, our chidren are honourable to the nth degree, but you just never know who one of them might end up with and the waters could get muddied if one of us goes a bit gaga as we age, which in my case i’m already bloody half gaga already 
The Will when you see it will be full of legalise.
We did think about doing our own, but decided as above, it just wasn’t worth bolloxing things up leading to some protracted court time which would eat up the small estate we will hopefully leave.
Course this is all wishful thinking that there’s anything to leave, does anyone trust the govt of the day not to dip its thieving bloody hands even deeper into the few quid we leave a few years down the line, cos i don’t 
My will cost about £180.00 - and as I have no family it was a bit more complicated. I had to make provision for someone to inherit the business, and I disposed of the rest of my estate to the executor and to charity.
I made out a POA for health and wealth with a close friend. You are a bit better off than me because your wife will have rights that unmarried/single people don’t. POAs were a bit more expensive £300 ish springs to mind.
Depends where you live on cost a bit, but all that sounds heavy. Ask around some friends and see if they have a recommendation for a local solicitor. I really wouldn’t attempt to either do it myself unless it was spectacularly simple and nor would I pick someone that I couldn’t see face to face. I think it’s well worth it to have a discussion.
and there was me thinking you were going to ask about ■■■■■■ 
I’m not sure what it’s called over there, but one of the real important things is ‘enduring power of attorney’. Worth asking a solicitor about this.
peterm:
I’m not sure what it’s called over there, but one of the real important things is ‘enduring power of attorney’. Worth asking a solicitor about this.
Thats the POA we were on about earlier, preterm.
There’s two parts to it, one for finances and one that allows you to make decisions about someone’s health if they are unable. I wasn’t married to Mr A so they were vital when he had dementia. They are still handy if you are married, it helps preclude any arguments and lends adiitiinal authority.
Power of attorneys aren’t something that readily comes to mind when making a will, however they are as essential as the will, especially where the person becomes incapacitated either due to mental health ie: dementia, or due to brain trauma ie: from a road accident etc. But what if something happens to you and your family cannot deal with basic thing like paying the bills because the bank account where the money to pay them is in your name only? The worse case is that they locked of the bank & need to manage the day to day running of the household, causing more stress that they don’t want, while at the same time trying to help you in your hour of need.
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) no longer needs a solicitor to set it up, and can now be done online, gov.uk/government/organisat … c-guardian you setup an online account then proceed to fill an idiot proof form out online (it won’t let you proceed to the next page until you fill in the boxes, you can pause and return to finish the form at any time, then once your satisfied with it you then print the completed form out, either choose to pay the £80 fee online per LPA Financial or Health and welfare), or send a cheque (to the office of the public guardian) along with the form you’ve printed out. You then have 40 days to submit the form before the online file expires. You will need to have at least 1 person who is willing to act as a guardian, and understands what is necessary and is willing to act on your behalf before starting the submission. This can be a spouse, child, acquaintance, friend or anyone you can trust to do the task. You need to check ALL the details are correct before you send off the form, because there’s no refunds if you screw up the form, only a discounted fee for resubmitting within 56 days of being told you’ve fugged it up (guess who messed it up?).
There are two Types of LPA:
Financial - this allows the guardian to act on your behalf in any or all money or property matters within the UK.
Health and welfare - this allows the guardian to act on your behalf in any or decisions regarding you treatment in hospital or care home, and if you have specified as such in the LPA, can give the guardian the power to instruct doctors to turn off your life support machine.
The former (financial) is probably the most important LPA
I’m in my early 50’s and recently setup my LPA, albeit the financial one, as I messed up the H&W form and the rejected it and I didn’t put down any specific care instructions, so I chose not to resubmit it. The financial LPA I missed out a signature, but the sent me a photocopy of that page which I signed and sent back without penalty.
As for property outside the UK, you should consult with a local legal attorney and setup a will and/or the local equivalent of the above
I would definitely consider nominating a member of your family as executor, the legal fees solicitors charge for this can be shocking.
Also look at trying to protect your funds if you should go into care, think they are called trust deeds.
Oh and Bankruptcy/IVA/Insolvency clauses to transfer someone’s inheritance to another family member if they should fall on hard times.
Don’t forget power of attorneys end upon death and executors can look back up to 6 years I think to ensure finances have been handled correctly.
These days we spend more time worrying about dying than we do worrying about living.
Join the union Usdaw, I did and one week later they did a free will for me and my wife, e mailed me copies and kept the other one in their safekeeping for free, the union subs are £2.34 a week, so well worth it.
Sapper
Check these free will packs carefully, many sneakily name the company as an executor, which gains them an administration fee when the will is needed. Only a Codicil or re-writing the will will get them out of the loop after the will is written. Similarly many banks offer to store the will in their archives for safekeeping for free, however some still want a fee to release it, or they sub contract the document storage facility to 3rd parties, HSBC are one such bank I’ve had the pleasure of battling with to get a will from after they sub contracted their Will storage service, a codicil was needed to get them out the loop.
albion:
peterm:
I’m not sure what it’s called over there, but one of the real important things is ‘enduring power of attorney’. Worth asking a solicitor about this.Thats the POA we were on about earlier, preterm.
There’s two parts to it, one for finances and one that allows you to make decisions about someone’s health if they are unable. I wasn’t married to Mr A so they were vital when he had dementia. They are still handy if you are married, it helps preclude any arguments and lends adiitiinal authority.
Thanks. I was thinking of the differences between ‘power of attorney’ and ‘enduring power of attorney’, but I suppose it’s just slightly different terms. I’d never investigated anything like that when I was a young bloke cos I was never going to die. 
Thanks guys, theres some great ideas there, which i have noted…the union one sound great, so does doing your own and storing it with a bank…or my bank ( barclays )…I could go with Pat and buy one from a stationers, or i could stay with the one i have been in contact with for £30…or take their offer of a home visit ( they may charge me for this down the line somewhere )…as they told me my/our will is complicated !!
so some decisions to be made, but at the end of the day, i can get get it done for a small price, then once its completed, refuse their extras…like attorneys, as we are more interested in sharing our assets when we pop the clogs…to make sure the kids get their share…so a trust looks good, but it all costs money…we really havnt got…its a shame that we are worth more dead than alive, we work out butts off…go with out, so we can leave everything to the kids…personally, i would rather have a good time now…and let them do what i did…work…work…then do some more…take a mortgage and buy your own…is that a selfish attitude…possibly, but we will stick to our plans…once again thanks everyone.
peterm:
Thanks. I was thinking of the differences between ‘power of attorney’ and ‘enduring power of attorney’, but I suppose it’s just slightly different terms. I’d never investigated anything like that when I was a young bloke cos I was never going to die.
Enduring power of attorneys have been superseded by lasting power of attorney