Discussion
With the recent unfortunate happenings on here and out it racey world, everyone with a TVR rushing to fit rollbars and my current leap into the housing market I've started to think about wills.
So am I alone in all this, does everyone have one and I'm the odd one out, how do you go about it without getting fleeced by a solicitor, and how do I make sure the racey fortune doesn't get eaten up by the nasty tax man
I can't wait till spring and I start to cheer up a bit
So am I alone in all this, does everyone have one and I'm the odd one out, how do you go about it without getting fleeced by a solicitor, and how do I make sure the racey fortune doesn't get eaten up by the nasty tax man
I can't wait till spring and I start to cheer up a bit
I've got one - sorted it when the house was bought a few years ago. I don't recall it costing a fortune because it was pretty straightforward. You just have to bear in mind exactly who you want to get what.
IIRC the taxman can be avoided simply by not having anything to leave to anyone.
Edited to add: Oh, the other alternative is not to die. But that might be a tough call....
>> Edited by SGirl on Wednesday 29th January 11:32
IIRC the taxman can be avoided simply by not having anything to leave to anyone.
Edited to add: Oh, the other alternative is not to die. But that might be a tough call....
>> Edited by SGirl on Wednesday 29th January 11:32
You're not alone - I have been about four years getting round to updating mine 
No harm in buying the pack from W H Smiths (for about a tenner) - this is just as valid as anything a legal beagle can fleece you for.
With the exception that if you are comfortably in the Inheitance Tax paying bracket, it might be well worth seeking advice to ensure that your loved ones would actually see any of the hard earned dough when Hector wants to collect his winnings.......
No harm in buying the pack from W H Smiths (for about a tenner) - this is just as valid as anything a legal beagle can fleece you for.
With the exception that if you are comfortably in the Inheitance Tax paying bracket, it might be well worth seeking advice to ensure that your loved ones would actually see any of the hard earned dough when Hector wants to collect his winnings.......
costs bout £300 through a decent lawyer. Much cheaper if it is a simple one. It gets really complicated if you don't have a will.
Transfers to spouses are free of death duties, but anything else is chargeable over about £250k. If you have a house and some life insurance, you'll pop over that surprisingly quickly.
The way around that is to use a trust (called a nil-rate band trust) to put £250k in for kids if you have them, such that if both parents die within a short period of time, you at least protect the £250k from tax.
If there will be lots of assets when you die (even if not at the moment), it's worth paying for some good advice.
Transfers to spouses are free of death duties, but anything else is chargeable over about £250k. If you have a house and some life insurance, you'll pop over that surprisingly quickly.
The way around that is to use a trust (called a nil-rate band trust) to put £250k in for kids if you have them, such that if both parents die within a short period of time, you at least protect the £250k from tax.
If there will be lots of assets when you die (even if not at the moment), it's worth paying for some good advice.
Agree 100 % with Plotloss, my Parents died within six months of one another without a will!!
If it wasn't for the addition of my name to the business account a month before (just coincidence) I would have been totally screwed as I was left to run the business. Eighteen months of costly legal crap then ensued.
Do it now, even if its just a basic one.
Nick
If it wasn't for the addition of my name to the business account a month before (just coincidence) I would have been totally screwed as I was left to run the business. Eighteen months of costly legal crap then ensued.
Do it now, even if its just a basic one.
Nick
My parents have just sorted theirs out so I get everything and the tax bill is minimal, not that I want anything off them anyway I'd much rather see them spend it all and die pennyless but you don't get much choice when you go do you 
This house buying lark is getting expensive and complicated
Can I have a clause in my will so Racegirl can't spend it all on shoes?
This house buying lark is getting expensive and complicated
Can I have a clause in my will so Racegirl can't spend it all on shoes?
We all come into this world with nothing - if you leave it in debt, you've made a profit 
Dying intestate (I think that's what you mean plotloss?) doesn't necessarily mean that Gordon gets a chunk but it does make it an absolute pain in the neck (emotionally and financially) for those left behind at a time when they could probably do without the hassle...
I would disagree with the idea of a DIY Will - it'll almost certainly be legal (unless you mess it up big time) but it won't necessarily do what you want it to do - there are some complex rules about the wording of gifts that could cause you to come a cropper and might mean that a gift fails disadvantaging someone you love.
There used to be some charity "make a will" schemes where you'd go and donate 50 quid or something similar to make a will through certain solicitors. Might be worth a look. But otherwise, especially if you're edging around the £250k threshold (and as said above with life insurance that can come pretty quick) make a proper will and take the tax considerations into account.
I would disagree with the idea of a DIY Will - it'll almost certainly be legal (unless you mess it up big time) but it won't necessarily do what you want it to do - there are some complex rules about the wording of gifts that could cause you to come a cropper and might mean that a gift fails disadvantaging someone you love.
There used to be some charity "make a will" schemes where you'd go and donate 50 quid or something similar to make a will through certain solicitors. Might be worth a look. But otherwise, especially if you're edging around the £250k threshold (and as said above with life insurance that can come pretty quick) make a proper will and take the tax considerations into account.
You can get what's called a 'mirror' will for you and the missus - whch is basically that, if she pops off, everything come to you and vice versa - but you have to have at least one different executor IIRC.
Cost about 100 quid when we had ours done a couple of years ago.
I went on and on at my dad to update his car and spend some of his hoarded cash – then he went and died suddenly and never got the car he wanted ... it was always 'well next year maybe'
Told him he couldn't take it with him (no pockets in a shroud). Polar Ben has got it right, we come in with nowt and leave with nowt, what happens in between is incidental
Cost about 100 quid when we had ours done a couple of years ago.
I went on and on at my dad to update his car and spend some of his hoarded cash – then he went and died suddenly and never got the car he wanted ... it was always 'well next year maybe'
Told him he couldn't take it with him (no pockets in a shroud). Polar Ben has got it right, we come in with nowt and leave with nowt, what happens in between is incidental
cotty said: My parents are trying to put their house in my name so that when they pop their clogs the tax man does not take a big chunk but the could be problems if your married, you split and your ex-wife gets half your parents house as well as half yours
You'd get problems if you went bankrupt as well...
Once it's 100% in your name . . you can evict them!!!
cotty said: My parents are trying to put their house in my name so that when they pop their clogs the tax man does not take a big chunk but the could be problems if your married, you split and your ex-wife gets half your parents house as well as half yours
cotty said: My parents are trying to put their house in my name so that when they pop their clogs the tax man does not take a big chunk but the could be problems if your married, you split and your ex-wife gets half your parents house as well as half yours
IIRC, unless its your permanent place of residence you might get clobbered for capital gains!
Also, to get 100% tax relief, it'd have to be in your name for 7 years or more before they shuffle off...
the seven year thing is a bit of a barsteward, if you know that you are going to pop your clogs you cant start giving chunks of your fortune away to relatives etc, as they will get taxed on it.
Ive put my life insurance payout in trust for the kids to save them getting collared. still leaves house and business etc that can be taxed ;banghead; hopefully i will last until the kids are old enough to become directors and I can sell them my shares for a £1.
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