Question about wills

[-Cappo-]

It's my understanding that if you make a will where you leave something to somebody (be that money or property or whatever) but have a requirement for what happens to that item after the beneficiary dies, then whilst you can state that in your will, if that is all you do then there's nothing which compels the beneficiary to follow your wishes?

That being the case, if Person A wanted to leave a fairly significant sum of money to Person B in their will, but wanted any residue after Person B's death to go to someone Person A specified, is there a way to achieve that? I know nothing at all about trusts etc, but wonder if the answer lies somewhere in that direction?

Obv a legal eagle would be able to help with this but I'm curious to know.

[BertBert]

Sounds pretty complicated to me.

How do you define residue of a sum of money?

[-Cappo-]

BertBert said:

Sounds pretty complicated to me.

How do you define residue of a sum of money?

Obviously Person A can't determine how much of it Person B spends. Let's say, for the sake of the discussion, that half of it was left when Person B died.

It's more about whether any mechanism exists to direct any residue after Person B's death?

[scorcher]

Surely once A has bequeathed money to B it is then B’s decision who to bequeath it to after they die. If B already has 100k and A bequeaths them another 100k, and B dies with 100k left , how would they decide who that 100k actually belonged to?

[Jeremy-75qq8]

It depends on the bigger picture.

When I die my girlfriend has a life interest in a portion of my estate. The immediate balance goes to my kids and when the life interest expires ( she dies / remarries etc ) what is left goes to the kids.

The life interest is prescriptive. Buy a house. Pay for house make up income shortfall , pay care costs. So she can't just spend it all on day 1.

So explain what you are trying to do please

[GreatGranny]

Jeremy-75qq8 said:

It depends on the bigger picture.

When I die my girlfriend has a life interest in a portion of my estate. The immediate balance goes to my kids and when the life interest expires ( she dies / remarries etc ) what is left goes to the kids.

The life interest is prescriptive. Buy a house. Pay for house make up income shortfall , pay care costs. So she can't just spend it all on day 1.

So explain what you are trying to do please

So still controlling her life even after you're dead?

[BertBert]

scorcher said:

Surely once A has bequeathed money to B it is then B’s decision who to bequeath it to after they die. If B already has 100k and A bequeaths them another 100k, and B dies with 100k left , how would they decide who that 100k actually belonged to?

Yes it seems extremely unlikely that the will itself can do it. So it would then fall to some form of benefit trust rather than the will per se. An expert in financial planning and structures is needed

[Steve57]

Im sure its very complicated to do.

Take my one for example. My late dad passed away leaving us ( me,my brother and sister) the business and the estate to the step mother BUT did this without a will. business was transfered mostly before he passed away BUT he still had an interest in the business that step mum albeit knew his wishes wouldn't go without a fight. some £25k later she signed over his shares and we all know that his wishes were that when the step mum passes away the house is shared between all 5 of the children ( yes her two also get a share rightly/wrongly who knows as they are NOT my late dads) BUT since he has passed away she has cut all ties with us and we are expecting to get nothing from them when she does pass away.

[alscar]

Unless written in the will itself ( and then only as a fixed £ quantum to Person B perhaps ? ) I don’t think you can dictate that.

[QuickQuack]

GreatGranny said:

Jeremy-75qq8 said:

It depends on the bigger picture.

When I die my girlfriend has a life interest in a portion of my estate. The immediate balance goes to my kids and when the life interest expires ( she dies / remarries etc ) what is left goes to the kids.

The life interest is prescriptive. Buy a house. Pay for house make up income shortfall , pay care costs. So she can't just spend it all on day 1.

So explain what you are trying to do please

So still controlling her life even after you're dead?

No, he's looking after his own children ahead of somebody else's children while not leaving his girlfriend high and dry without a home when he dies. It's quite reasonable to want to leave your estate to your own children and also to look after your partner. Depending on how it's set up, a life interest could even allow a partner to move homes. Otherwise the scenario described by Steve57 happens and your children get nothing from your life's work and savings.

OP, the way to achieve what you want would be for your estate to establish a trust on your death, which your will can specify, and making both persons A and B beneficiaries. The trust can be prescriptive so can specify what it can be used for etc., and when it will be available to the beneficiary. You need to talk to an experienced solicitor specialising in wills and estates, not just a common will writer or some such.

[98elise]

scorcher said:

Surely once A has bequeathed money to B it is then B’s decision who to bequeath it to after they die. If B already has 100k and A bequeaths them another 100k, and B dies with 100k left , how would they decide who that 100k actually belonged to?

This. If B has any other money or income then surely it becomes a pool of money they have. How do you determine what money is being spent at any time.

[QuickQuack]

98elise said:

scorcher said:

Surely once A has bequeathed money to B it is then B’s decision who to bequeath it to after they die. If B already has 100k and A bequeaths them another 100k, and B dies with 100k left , how would they decide who that 100k actually belonged to?

This. If B has any other money or income then surely it becomes a pool of money they have. How do you determine what money is being spent at any time.

Via prescriptive trusts with trustees and multiple beneficiaries, who may not even be born yet at the time the will is written. It's all quite possible if you want to do it and know what you're doing. That's why expert legal advice is essential.

[-Cappo-]

Thanks QuickQuack, that answers my question and makes sense.