Have you made your Will?
- Thread starter Scof
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Its been on my to do list for about 10 years now 
Why was that a big mistake?
Really sorry to hear about your partner mate.
Was the problem about her allowance not passing to you , assuming you wasn't married?
Was the problem about her allowance not passing to you , assuming you wasn't married?
For an unmarried couple it's essential, especially if you own a house. Otherwise your partner's relatives - close or even distant - will end up owning their half of your joint house.
For a married couple it's less essential but still a very good idea, especially if you don't have children so no descendants as an obvious default route. Couples do things together, so there's a very real chance that you'll both die together in an accident. If so you may not like where the money ends up by default.
For a married couple it's less essential but still a very good idea, especially if you don't have children so no descendants as an obvious default route. Couples do things together, so there's a very real chance that you'll both die together in an accident. If so you may not like where the money ends up by default.
The main love in my life died & that death was a horrible experience for everyone concerned.
I can assure you that our tax position was very low down on our list of things to do, but thank you for showing your raising your head above the parapet & telling the internets that what is important to you.
Very sad, but you haven't said why it was a big mistake,
You need a will to ensure your kids get full benefit of the higher IHT exemption. And to control how much else they get.
Sorry for your loss. We haven't done ours yet, despite owning a house together and not married or civil partnership. We both have our separate kids, and one is high risk (autistic). My partner had cancer last year and we vowed to get the will done, but didn't. She now has it back in the same place, and guess what, we still haven't done it. Don't be like us
We did ours a few years ago. Mirror wills. One other thing we did at the same time was to change our status from joint tenants to tenants in common.
My mums will which was made about 30 years ago left a decent sum to our children too. It was still a decent sim 30 years on. When she passed away last year, inside the will was a handwritten note from her saying that we should give the same amount to her grandchildren’s husbands and wives and the great grandchildren too. Obviously as executors we honoured that. Dunno when she wrote that but I think it must have been while our daughter in law was pregnant because she specifically mentioned to set it aside for the child of any of her Granddaughters if they were pregnant at the time of her death.
My mums will which was made about 30 years ago left a decent sum to our children too. It was still a decent sim 30 years on. When she passed away last year, inside the will was a handwritten note from her saying that we should give the same amount to her grandchildren’s husbands and wives and the great grandchildren too. Obviously as executors we honoured that. Dunno when she wrote that but I think it must have been while our daughter in law was pregnant because she specifically mentioned to set it aside for the child of any of her Granddaughters if they were pregnant at the time of her death.
Specific sums should be avoided. A relative meant to leave the bulk of her wealth to two people. She divided the house value by two, promised that to each of them and said everyone else should get the leftovers.
It turned out that, after a couple of decades, the leftovers were vastly more than what was once the main amount.
If you want to divide things then do it by percentages.
It's far simpler to just leave money to the next generation. If they choose to pass some down that's up to each of them. If anyone's dead then their share gets divided between their offspring. Otherwise those who have lots of kids gain more than those who don't.
It turned out that, after a couple of decades, the leftovers were vastly more than what was once the main amount.
If you want to divide things then do it by percentages.
It's far simpler to just leave money to the next generation. If they choose to pass some down that's up to each of them. If anyone's dead then their share gets divided between their offspring. Otherwise those who have lots of kids gain more than those who don't.
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please explain. Are you referring to dependant property.
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You are married, correct?
You both need to write a will. but you don't need to trouble any solicitors from their sleep, these things can be easily drafted yourself. Last time it was discussed I uploaded a DIY template. But I reckon ChatGPT can probably do a fair job.
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