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[clio]

Now im married ive been meaning to make a will as im wanting my share of house going to charity than line some relations pocket I never see. Does anyone know what the charge is and had anyone else left there estate to charity??

[Dancinggirl]

I would recommend going to 2 or 3 local solicitors and get a quote. There are Will Making companies but I still think it is worth getting some advice from a good solicitor and have things drawn up properly. There could be issues around leaving your half of the house to charity as it may mean the house has to be sold if you die before your husband and this could cause him a problem.  As I said, I would definitely get some proper advice and an opportunity to discuss your options for peace of mind.
My husband and I don't want money wasted on funerals and have asked to have your bodies donated to research if possible - this isn't easy as apparently you have to be in pretty good nick for them to be able to use your body!!!! If donation isn't possible we go in a box & get cremated on the cheap. The kids and friends are to go to the pub, buy a round of drinks and have a toast to us.
I think my husband and I paid £100 - £150 each for the service.  You need to think who you would want to have as your executors - preferably in the age group that will outlive you.  We included the solicitors as I wouldn't want our children to have too much hassle after we're gone.  It's worth asking the approximate charges incurred if the solicitors handle the estate after death. I hope that helps. DG x
 

[clio]

Thankyou for reply, lots to think about, i'll look at some solicitors and make some enquiries.

[CLKD]

Make sure that the Solicitors are those that are involved on a regular basis with Wills though, some specialise in different areas.  Also, a Will can be challenged  ........ so leaving it to a Charity may not bode well.  Also, have a look at the Annual Accounts for the Charity you are planning to support - you may be surprised as how many millions of pounds are NOT used towards the specific 'idea'  ........ unless you really want to line the pockets of the Company Chairman and provide him with a Company Car ......... ?

For example, Guide Dogs for the Blind have a HUGE amount of monies stashed away, in property etc. which is not used towards training dogs ....... same with some of the cat charities  - people give thinking that the monies will go to the 'header', i.e Cats Protection, RSPCA, but the realiaty is different.  It might be worth while giving small amounts of food which will go to feed 'strays' rather than a large amoutn of money 

[Sarah2]

It would be very unusual to write your husband out of your will if your home is jointly owned and you die first- normally your estate passes to your  immediate next of kin. You may have to have your half of the house put into a trust and then your share given to charity when your husband died if he outlived you.

This would make the will more complicated and expensive.

We recently paid around £250 for 2 joint wills that were updating our old wills.

[CLKD]

We need to up-date ours.  Time has flied by since we first went to our Solicitor!

I think if there is a dependant spouse or child then the advice is to write them as next of kin so that the whole Estate after taxes/burial costs are passed to them directly.  Then there can be a section as to what you want 'done' with the rest once the spouse dies unless there is still a dependant living there.

[Sarah2]

You don't HAVE to leave it to your husband or wife- as shown in this week's Midsomer Murder!!!- but it makes them homeless potentially if you don't.

You could for example leave your half to your children- there was a case on another forum where a woman wanted to do exactly that because her DH was already wealthy in his own right, and she didn't want her share going to him and her stepchildren if she died first.

All very complicated!

Legal advice from a solicitor ( NOT a will's franchise with a non-legal person) is a must.

[lubylou]

Hi
Marriage revokes wills so if you already had one before you got married it will no longer be legally effective, so this is a good reason to make a new one.

By law if your house is in joint names with your husband  as “beneficial joint tenants" it will automatically transfer to your husband if you predecease him.  This is the usual way properties are held in joint names. This transfer of ownership happens by operation of law regardless of what you put in your will. So if you want to leave your half of the house to charity you need to make sure the house/property as owned by you both as "tenants in common". This enables you to bequeath your half to whoever you want. So I would check whether your joint ownership is as "“beneficial joint tenants" or "tenants in common" as it makes a difference.

But I assume that you want your husband to stay in the house so should make provision that your husband has the right to occupy the house for his lifetime before any bequests to charities (or others) can be made in relation to your half. This is usally called a "life interest"

I think you need to find a solicitor who specialises in Wills and Probate & Inheritance Tax law and ask for a fixed fee up front so you know what it will cost you and don't get any unpleasant surprises when the bill arrives! 

Lubylou

[Sarah2]

The thing with being tenants in common is that the share belonging to the deceased may be held in trust until the other partner dies.

My parents have had their wills re-written so they are tenants in common so that the house will belong 1/4 to me and 1/4 to my brother when one of them dies.

It is quite expensive to do this with a lawyer and will add quite a bit to the will's bill.

[clio]

Off course I wouldnt see my husband on the street, I probably didnt explain myself very well. My idea would be that my husbsnd stay in the house until he either, dies, sells or remarrys, if any of those happens then my half goes to my chosen charity. I wouldnt want the money handing over but would want to maybe purchase something for it.

Clio

[Dancinggirl]

Hi clio
You definitely need to get some proper legal advice about this, so do some research about solicitors who specialise in Wills and get some quotes for their services.  It is very important to do a Will or at least review your will every 5 years or so. Getting it sorted brings peace of mind.  Good luck.
DG x

[Witches Cat]

Because father in law has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's we had to go to the solicitors to sort out his power of attorney stuff. Decided while we were there to make our wills. (never done one before)  As there's a problem with father in law's will because of how mother in law's was written regarding the property going to hubby, decided to leave our respective halves directly to son and family instead of in trust to survivor, then whole thing to son later. Making the ownership of our house "joint" to be able to do the wills how we wanted and then doing our wills has just cost us £420.00  The solicitor asked if we wanted to do a power of attorney for us as well, that would only be a grand or so extra....    we declined the offer till we'd saved up ....  asking around it seems this is the going rate so no doubt it won't get any cheaper with waiting.

[CLKD]

If there is a dependant living in the house then what ever the Will states they will live there without hindrance …. Wills can be challenged too …….. best get good advice - then let us know

[Suzi Q]

Off course I wouldnt see my husband on the street, I probably didnt explain myself very well. My idea would be that my husbsnd stay in the house until he either, dies, sells or remarrys, if any of those happens then my half goes to my chosen charity. I wouldnt want the money handing over but would want to maybe purchase something for it.

Clio

I went to a solicitor and had my will written up
As the house is jointly owned no one would throw my husband or make him sell it.
So I said my hubbie can have my share of the property UNLESS he remarries Or he sells
Or he rents it out no time limit BUT IN ANY of the above situations 1/4 of the price of the home is to be  Paid out to our son. Hubbie was not impressed he said Ive left it all to you!
 BUT as I said Look at my Dad 2mnths after MUM died after 40 yrs of marriage hes with another women NOW he will leave everything t her IM not going to fight it I cant be bothered
Considering MUM brought 20. 000 pounds to the marriage on 1953 and Dad brought a farthing
Yes a farthing everything they had was because of MUMS inheritance YES Dad worked hard
Ive worked for 35 years and some of that time I earned more than Bobbles I  helped put him thorugh UNI after hed served his time part time UNI but seeing my Dad coloured my mind
He accepted it and signed the codicil. Hed still be well off anyway as Im insured house paid off
Good pension scheme plus Government pension and savings so he can afford it even at 80
But I know son wouldnt do anything till his Dad joined me BUT I was bugared if some slapper pardon ladies was gloing to move in to my house and enjoy the fruits of my labour and our son would get sod all. KNowone knows what the future holds I adotre and love  Bobles to death
BUT hes a man a good looking man most women adore him and thats married single young@old