Last Will & Testamant

[johnbarry]

Most (I suppose make aWill)

I have no will, no estate, just the stuff in my home.

I have a daughter (next of kin)

With a Will I understand an executor is needed.

Without a Will does everything go automatically to my next of kin.

Does my next of kin have Power of Attorney (not sure if that’s the correct words)
meaning the rights to close my utility – bank accounts, have any monies owed paid to her etc obtain a death certificate, contact to notify.

I have asked my daughter to take care of everything for me, including empty my property etc.

Or do I need to set this up legally, like a will.

 

Cheers
John

[D-Dan]

You don’t need a will in such circumstances, just document that you want everything to go to your daughter.

Power of Attorney is generally a living privilege (e.g. if you become incapacitated, mentally incapable etc.)

Oh, and if you make a will, your daughter will be executrix (female version)

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[johnbarry]

Thanks Dan

I will document it then.

Cheers
John

[Bob Williams]

It’s an advantage to have a responsible neighbour as witness John. Just get them to witness your signature on it, have them sign next to their printed name. Not mandatory, they don’t have to read the document, just witness your siggy on it. It does help.

How are you?

When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.

[johnbarry]

Thanks Bob

I have put the letter together, it doesn’t look right I seem to be struggling how to word it.

I am ok

It’s just a feeling I have had for years and slowly I have been putting things in order.

Cheers
John

[Ed P]

A will makes it easier to get probate , but unfortunately in these Government money-grubbing days it costs an obscene £215 if the value of what has been left is >£5000.

The executrix does NOT need a solicitor probate is in fact a very simple process other than the valuation of the estate but you can do that using Ebay. (Most furniture etc is worth naff all). My mercenary children have told us to put stickers on the back of  anything that has value – the rest of the cherished stuff, especially knick-knacks and crockery will go to the tip (we are still not sure if they are joking)!

[Richard]

I have done probate a couple of times, in both cases there was a will and in both cases there was effectively no real property valuation to worry about. On the first death all property rights passed to the surviving spouse so while there was a half property value it was not a huge issue so not in any way contested by HMRC. By the second death the property had been sold so it was a cash and minimal property only deal and yes, a valuation was obtained from only one sources and in view of the smallish value, again there was no HMRC discussion involved. As other have said Probate is a straight forward if increasingly expensive process and can, I understand now be set up on line. I used the semi automated papers that did not really work as there were errors in the calculations so it all went as hard copy. HMRC and the probate process were very happy not to have valuable property involved.

Warning, a Power of Attorney can be hugely valuable if you suffer health impairments that do not kill you. I had to deal with the court of abuse* as one person did not have a valid POA, they were back then a nightmare of limited competence  and frankly very limited interest. Their own ‘inspector’ or were they called visitor told us to do enough to keep them off your back, then ignore them so that sort of sets the tone. They are another expense of numbers of hundreds of pounds plus an insurance bond at more money. A small estate might get relief or get flattened.

A solicitor can add thousands perhaps many tens of thousands or pounds to both probate and Court of Abuse* cases. They are rarely needed.

*They call themselves court of protection, what an oxymoron.

[Alan Wood]

Whether you need a will or need to obtain probate after your death depends mainly on your surviving assets. If your assets are more than £325K (including your house and all your possessions) then inheritance tax will need to be paid. This will need to be completed before probate can be granted (The government wants its money before anyone else gets a chance to spend it).

Probate is simply the authority to wind up and distribute a persons assets after death in accordance with their written will. The authority is given by probate a a specific set of people or one person who is named in the will as executor or executrix. They have no authority to change any of the terms in the written will.

If there is no will then someone needs to apply for “Letters of Administration” which is simply the same function except that the order of who gets the inheritance is laid down by law.

If the assets are quite small, up to around £50K then probate might not be necessary at all provided the holders of any asset agrees not to insist on probate Last time I did this the bank limit was £50K but it might vary between banks etc. Also sale of any house would need authority to do so.

To be honest it is always best to make a will. In this way you can be sure your wishes will be carried out. There are several cheap ways to do this including a “will kit” or some solicitors will do it cheaply. I would say you could get a solicitor to do one for £100-150 and this could save your executor money in the long run and as these costs would be deductible from your estate it would mean the inheritor would benefit more. Not a lot of money for peace of mind and simplicity in dealing with your estate. It is not that difficult to do.

[Dave Rice]

My Aunt made a will properly then added an amendment later, quite a small amount was involved. This was signed by the neighbours. Probate said it wasn’t worth a fig and I was to execute the original will. It turned out the value of the estate was under their limit and they didn’t get involved so I followed her wishes.

My advice is to make a will. 25 years ago when we got our first property we used a local will writing service and sorted Power of Attorney at the same time. Now the final child has flown the nest it’s time for us to revisit it all. Mother in law kept up her membership of Unite after retiring and recently, after much nagging, took advantage of their free service.

[johnbarry]

Thanks all, for the suggestions, it is with interesting reading.

This morning I had £5 in my bank account, in my saving account I have £3.

I rent my property from a local housing association, I have one daughter (to whom I give all) that being the items in my home (kitchen living room)

I asked my daughter to notify utilities etc and any monies owed to me I want her to have it. I need her to empty the home and hand it back to the housing asso.

I am not sure what it is I am after, I have prepared a letter of intent it doesn’t look right, I turned it in to a will it goes on to 2 pages, my signature and the witness is on page2 page 1 could be altered. I have changed font size un spaced it and so on. I am feeling like a yo yo on a merry go round

I am struggling to decide what I am after, not sure what probate is, I can’t afford a solicitor, is it worth it just for my white goods as such.

Also can a will only be used if it’s done by a professional.

Cheers
John

[D-Dan]

Alan Wood wrote:

Whether you need a will or need to obtain probate after your death depends mainly on your surviving assets. If your assets are more than £325K (including your house and all your possessions) then inheritance tax will need to be paid.

In the case of a married (or civil partnership) couple, the exemption passes to the other spouse on death, and so £650k (EDIT: Subject to the estate passing to the surviving spouse/civil partner on death). The family home will, over the next couple of years, gain a separate exemption to take estate value to £1m.

In a rented property with little real estate value (I know that feeling well, I’m one of those people worth more alive than dead) it’s just not worth the effort of a will. No inheritance tax implications, no capital gains tax implications etc. The only issues are ensuring someone has access to the remaining assets.

Arch Linux, on a Ryzen 7 1800X, 32 GB, 5 (yes -5) HDs inc 5 SSDs, 4 RPi 3Bs + 1 RPi 4B - one as an NFS server with two more drives, PiHole (shut yours), Plex server, cloud server, and other random Pi stuff. Nice CoolerMaster case, 2 x NV GTX 1070 8GB, and a whopping 32" AOC 1440P monitor.

[Dave Rice]

John, I wouldn’t worry too much. You have no property or multi million pound bank account for anyone to argue over.

I would just write a note to your daughter saying this is what you would like to happen to your possessions. Make a couple of copies, one for her and one for you to keep with your other documents. Let a third person have one too if you think that is appropriate. That way if any friends / family have any argument she can waive it under their noses. No it won’t have any legal worth, but no-one from the establishment is going to be involved with it anyway.

Probate is just legal speak for the divvying up of a persons estate according to their will, or the default formula if there isn’t one. “Grant of Probate” allows the executor to do this. As you can imagine banks just don’t let anyone access your bank account!

The state is only interested in  estates over a certain amount. Banks can have their own limits but neither will apply to you – unless you win the lottery or hitch up with a rich widow ? Worry about that when it happens ?

[Alan Wood]

D-Dan

 

John has already indicated these circumstances do not apply to him which is why I did not go into that area but yes you are correct in what you say.

[johnbarry]

Thanks Dave

I think what you say is about what I am after, a note to my daughter saying this is what I would like to happen to your possessions.

As you say D-Dan it’s just not worth the effort of a will.

I didn’t know what I wanted, with all the input/s I think I now know.

Nice one to all

Much Appreciaed

Cheers
John

[wasbit]

Should there ever be a need for probate, for an individual with assets under £5k, it’s just a matter of attending & swearing an oath.

The solicitor who drew up all our wills advised me to do it myself & that if he had to attend, not only would I have to pay his fee but there would be no leeway if he got anything wrong. The procedure is much friendlier for individuals.

--
Regards
wasbit

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[Alan Wood]

This may interest you from Martin’s Money Page.

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills?utm_source=MSE_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=30-Jan-18-7533&utm_campaign=nt-poll&utm_content=10

[Richard]

Alan that was a useful food for thought. There can be subtle traps for the unwary and the link does provide details of free schemes that frankly are aimed at such as John’s situation. The main issues are having the right to claim any property, the right to carry out the funeral of the decease’s choice – and paying for the funeral. That can be a big one in almost all cases. If there is any value to the estate that might conceivably be used for such expenses it can be difficult if the funds get locked up and someone else has to find the cash.

A long time ago I briefly worked in a bank I saw several really unpleasant messes over deaths and and the deceased’s affairs. It can, and sometimes did result in the deceased being left in limbo for a very long time. The ‘nearest and dearest’ were deeply embarrassed and upset.

On the other hand one was almost the script for a ‘B’ comedy movie as hangers on tried to destroy the value of the estate. In that case the bank had to step in and bring the farce to a close. It could claim to be acting in the interest of avoiding risks to the bank’s position as the then banking rules allowed.

[Ed P]

Letters are sometimes hard to write, It may actually be easier to use one of the free proforma wills.

link

[johnbarry]

Thanks Alan Good link I have registered for the next Free Will Month.

Thanks Richard, all being well my body goes to Stoke University and they take care of the funeral.

Thanks for the Link Ed, I have been on and they are not free only a free trial.

Renews at £29/month after free trial ends. Cancel anytime – no obligations.

For now I have completed a letter of intent as such.

Cheers
John

[Richard]

John, if you are satisfied that you have done all that you need to do to keep your affairs straight forward then you can and should remain at peace. Some have not been so diligent and leave others to pick up the pieces. That said we wish to retain your company for a long time to come and I am sure that your family member
(s) would also wish that. I sought only to remind everyone that things do sometimes not run as smoothly as we would wish.

[Author]

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