Ensuring a will's beneficiaries.
Ensuring a will's beneficiaries.
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lowdrag

Original Poster:

13,187 posts

243 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
quotequote all
Firstly, if I have put this in the wrong place, then transfer it please mods.

A difficult family situation here. In view of long-standing problems I have excluded one child from my will. I have expressed the wish in my will that the elder daughter will distribute funds as she sees fit to support her younger sister. I have taken the precaution that all my cars are now registered in the elder's name (although that might not be very useful), that I now have a joint account with the elder so that if I am one day told my sell-by date I can sell up most things and put it in the joint account, thus ensuring that it will pass as joint beneficiaries to her.

However, it seems that more and more wills are being challenged and that the "losers" are winning back their "lost inheritance", so my will stands as worthless. I know that on my death even my wish to be buried can be over-ridden at the request of the trustees, and accept that, but I have spent a lifetime building up a reasonable estate and don't want it to be just blown on my death, hence the reason for making a new will. I also accept the "Deed of Family Arrangement" can be used by the elder as benificiary, but we have discussed this long and hard and she understands why I am doing what I am doing.

But the crux of the matter is; can I actually find a way to ensure that my estate goes where I have planned it? Otherwise I might just as well calculate how much I'll need and give the rest to my eldest now.

Steve H

1,172 posts

254 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
quotequote all
Hi Lowdrag, you say that you have changed your Will, who did this? Solicitor? Willwriter? or DIY? if the first two did they not advise you on the best way to proceed?
I would strongly advise that you seek professional advice. I am a WillWriter and Estate Planner and if you would like to PM me I will be happy to give the best advice I can
Steve

New POD

3,851 posts

180 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
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ffs make up.

Vixpy1

42,699 posts

294 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
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Get professional advice

TwigtheWonderkid

49,167 posts

180 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
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My understanding is that contesting a will is very hard, unless dependent children (u/18) have been ignored. If you leave out an adult daughter, she will find it very hard to contest, unless you are potty.

As for "ffs, make up", a daft comment as we don't know the reason for your decision, she could be a heroin addict for all we know. None of anyone's business.

lowdrag

Original Poster:

13,187 posts

243 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
quotequote all
New POD said:
ffs make up.
Such a lovely remark without knowing any of the circumstances relating to the problem which led to the decision, which was a hard one indeed. Thank you for your courtesy and comprehension. I am sure that you are a perfect person yourself, with no family problems.

My will was remade last year with a very good firm of solicitors. However, this problem seems to be arising in the recent months, so I thought I'd ask the informed collective (which exludes of course New POD) if there was a way of ensuring that my will can be enforced as is. There are a lot of legal people here, and I hope that one of them will give me the courtesy of a reply. That's all.

Pickled

2,059 posts

173 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
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Steve H said:
Hi Lowdrag, you say that you have changed your Will, who did this? Solicitor? Willwriter? or DIY? if the first two did they not advise you on the best way to proceed?
I would strongly advise that you seek professional advice. I am a WillWriter and Estate Planner and if you would like to PM me I will be happy to give the best advice I can
Steve
Mind if I drop you a PM in the next week or so, my in-laws are looking for some assistance in this.

New POD

3,851 posts

180 months

Thursday 14th February 2013
quotequote all
lowdrag said:
New POD said:
ffs make up.
Such a lovely remark without knowing any of the circumstances relating to the problem which led to the decision, which was a hard one indeed. Thank you for your courtesy and comprehension. I am sure that you are a perfect person yourself, with no family problems.

My will was remade last year with a very good firm of solicitors. However, this problem seems to be arising in the recent months, so I thought I'd ask the informed collective (which exludes of course New POD) if there was a way of ensuring that my will can be enforced as is. There are a lot of legal people here, and I hope that one of them will give me the courtesy of a reply. That's all.
I'm sure that things are not reversible, and I'm certainly not perfect, but maybe one way of stopping challenges is to give something, a token.

Steve H

1,172 posts

254 months

Friday 15th February 2013
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Pickled said:
Steve H said:
Hi Lowdrag, you say that you have changed your Will, who did this? Solicitor? Willwriter? or DIY? if the first two did they not advise you on the best way to proceed?
I would strongly advise that you seek professional advice. I am a WillWriter and Estate Planner and if you would like to PM me I will be happy to give the best advice I can
Steve
Mind if I drop you a PM in the next week or so, my in-laws are looking for some assistance in this.
Of course, i will be happy to help where I can

Steve H

1,172 posts

254 months

Friday 15th February 2013
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
My understanding is that contesting a will is very hard, unless dependent children (u/18) have been ignored. If you leave out an adult daughter, she will find it very hard to contest, unless you are potty.

As for "ffs, make up", a daft comment as we don't know the reason for your decision, she could be a heroin addict for all we know. None of anyone's business.
Traditionaly a standard Will with a good Letter of Wishes woyld have sufficed to exclude a "non dependent" adult child but a recent case from 2011 "Ilot v Mitson" has changed matters slightly. There are ways to deal with this and i urge anyone to seek professional advice

Elderly

3,738 posts

268 months

Friday 15th February 2013
quotequote all
It could also depend on the relationship between your two children
as to whether or not your wishes will be carried through.

An associate of mine had a wealthy wife, their relationship was not good.
She cut him out of her will bequeathing all to their children.
She died but the children have made sure that the husband is 'looked after'.

I've had personal experience (which I'm not going to go into) where,
by 'Deed of Variation' I received money from a family member's estate
that was not left directly to me.

The best advice I can give you, is to give me your e-type
and I promise your youngest won't get it biggrin.


Steve H

1,172 posts

254 months

Friday 15th February 2013
quotequote all
Elderly said:
It could also depend on the relationship between your two children
as to whether or not your wishes will be carried through.

An associate of mine had a wealthy wife, their relationship was not good.
She cut him out of her will bequeathing all to their children.
She died but the children have made sure that the husband is 'looked after'.

I've had personal experience (which I'm not going to go into) where,
by 'Deed of Variation' I received money from a family member's estate
that was not left directly to me.

The best advice I can give you, is to give me your e-type
and I promise your youngest won't get it biggrin.
My advice to my client in this situation would be a good Discretionary Trust, a good Letter of wishes and Professional Trustrees who will not be "swayed" by emotion. A Deed of Variation can be implemented post death but that is something the Trustees have to consider and the LOW will be taken into account.

lowdrag

Original Poster:

13,187 posts

243 months

Saturday 16th February 2013
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Elderly said:
The best advice I can give you, is to give me your e-type
and I promise your youngest won't get it biggrin.
Far too late for that one dear boy - she's been spoken for since many a year back, and it isn't the children who will benefit either. A youngster who can drive like hell, can take her apart and put her back together beforte breakfast, very intelligent (research scientist) and very loveable get's her.

rlw

3,589 posts

267 months

Sunday 17th February 2013
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Are you not still in France where the inheritance laws are almost set in stone?

lowdrag

Original Poster:

13,187 posts

243 months

Sunday 17th February 2013
quotequote all
Well, this is a thorny problem soon to be solved. It seems - at the moment - that my French estate is subject to French law, but that my holdings in the UK will,be subject to UK law. Now the French are changing their law so that those of us of foreign nationality can choose whether we are treated under French or - in my case - UK law. So the status quo is that my english will will have precedence - shortly. No one has told me otherwise, so I hope I'll last that long!

uknick

1,066 posts

214 months

Monday 18th February 2013
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lowdrag said:
.... I have expressed the wish in my will that the elder daughter will distribute funds as she sees fit to support her younger sister....
I assume your eldest daughter has agreed to this. But, even if she has now, might it not put a lot of pressure on her when the time comes to decide how much is acceptable as "fit to support"? Pressure could be legal and/or emotional.