Will writing

[sunil4]

Hi all,

More of a lurker than a poster but please dont hold that against me!

Having just had surgery last Monday for testicular cancer with further results yet unknown, i need to get my house in order for my wife and two young kids.

In this regard can anyone please recommend a will writer. My current will was pre marriage and kids so need to replace it to protect my family in case things go pear shaped.

Relatively simple, just the main home and 3 buy to lets (one property is occupied by my parents so not let as such) plus ISAs/ Shares etc

I am based in South Croydon, CR2 but presume things can be done by post/ email/ phone for the right outcome

Thank you

Sunil

Edited by sunil4 on Tuesday 10th November 10:32

[R0G]

Groupon has offers under £20 for this

It works - we have had ours done this way

[sunil4]

Thank you Rog!

Good to hear from you.

Is this reliable though. I would hate to think there was some daft technicality when i popped my clogs and having SWMBO having more grief?

[mdglen]

Firstly, I hope the treatment has gone well.

http://www.willaid.org.uk/ is running at the moment so if there's someone local to you, might be worth a punt.

However, from the size of your potential estate (house in London and 3 BTL's) your probably in inheritance tax territory and you have dependents, so you really want to be getting proper qualified advice. I would suggest looking for a member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners http://www.step.org/ who specialize in this area.

A properly drafted will, should more than pay for itself in reducing your IHT bill, and reducing the scope for any disputes.

Hope that helps.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

sunil4 said:

My current will was pre marriage

Marriage invalidates all previous wills. So in effect, you don't have a will at all.

[Drumroll]

You are right to get these things sorted, it is not morbid, looking at the dark side, it is practical. Another thing to consider is lasting power of attorney so your wife can run your financial affairs if you are not feeling at your best. I wish you well and having come through cancer twice my self it does help to know things are in place. Something else I did was to write some letters to my loved ones just in case. Good luck and keep positive.

Edited by Drumroll on Tuesday 10th November 16:59

[anonymous-user]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

sunil4 said:

My current will was pre marriage

Marriage invalidates all previous wills. So in effect, you don't have a will at all.

Often, or even usually, but not always. See sections 18 to 18 D of the Wills Act 1837 (as amended in 1982 and more recently by statutory instrument to take account of civil partnerships).

In broad summary, if a will is made when a testator is expecting to marry and the testator does not intend the marriage to invalidate the Will, it doesn't.

[R0G]

sunil4 said:

Thank you Rog!

Good to hear from you.

Is this reliable though. I would hate to think there was some daft technicality when i popped my clogs and having SWMBO having more grief?

SUPER reliable as it is written by the will society

Unless complicated a solicitor is not needed

[TR4man]

My wife and I have just had our wills done.

Cost was £175 + VAT for a relatively simple one. Left everything to each other, if we both croak then split equally between the three children.

We just looked online for local solicitors as we felt a little uneasy (probably unjustifiably) about using one of the many will writing "specialists".

[Who Me]

Just be careful with the cheap wills offers that you see. Some of them specify that you use their Solicitors and Executors and charge a % of the estate value. Read the small print or question directly if they just hold the will or you have to use their executor.

[TooMany2cvs]

You're married with kids. If the marriage has invalidated then will, then the intestacy rules are simple.

The missus gets the first £250k. Anything over that, they get lifetime interest - but the kids split it evenly beyond that. So if your house is £250k+, the kids can't chuck her out until she kicks the bucket.

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-w...

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Breadvan72 said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

sunil4 said:

My current will was pre marriage

Marriage invalidates all previous wills. So in effect, you don't have a will at all.

Often, or even usually, but not always. See sections 18 to 18 D of the Wills Act 1837 (as amended in 1982 and more recently by statutory instrument to take account of civil partnerships).

In broad summary, if a will is made when a testator is expecting to marry and the testator does not intend the marriage to invalidate the Will, it doesn't.

Sorry, yes you're absolutely right.

[Red Devil]

mdglen said:

However, from the size of your potential estate (house in London and 3 BTL's) your probably in inheritance tax territory and you have dependents, so you really want to be getting proper qualified advice. I would suggest looking for a member of Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners http://www.step.org/ who specialize in this area.

A properly drafted will, should more than pay for itself in reducing your IHT bill, and reducing the scope for any disputes.

Hope that helps.

^^Very much this^^.

It is highly likely that with 4 properties (if they are all in CR2) the threshold will be in play. In such circumstances, inheritance and tax planning is not an area in which to be a cheapskate. The potential financial and other consequences could easily exceed the cost many times over.

Also get your wife to do the same so that her will mirrors yours (if that is what you both want). You never know what life may bring. A very good friend of mine was involved in a serious car crash. His wife was 10 years younger than him. He survived: she didn't. The failure to properly plan for such an eventuality proved to be a major error.

[sunil4]

Thankyou so much everyone got the advice and kind thoughts. I won't get my histology results for another week but in the meantime I have booked a home visit from a local firm found on the link kindly provided at http://www.step.org/ to discuss wills and estate/ iht matters.

Best wishes

Sunil