Mel B Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Please note that this is a serious issue and I, and others no doubt, would appreciate it if it was kept as such, if you don't agree with our views that's fine, put your point across but please be civil and think of others, and don't be derogatory, thanks. :-S As has already been mentioned on another posting by others, I believe the importance of making a will cannot be over-emphasised. Having just gone through loosing my Mum-in-Law, very quickly, we were very fortunate that she had had the good sense to have a funeral plan and gave her wishes for what she wanted to happen to her, what hymns etc at her service, and what to do with her chattles. At a time which was extremely stressful and distressing, this at least meant that we were spared the difficulties of know what to do for her - we knew and so were able to grant her last wishes, this went for all her family so that no squabbles, guessig games etc were called for or occurred. We are in our 40s and decided a year ago to make new wills after we bought a second bungalow to rent out, but we have had wills since we were in our 30s. Apart from the fact that they at least give our wishes, they also sort out the finances, chattles etc issues, something which we know others would find very difficult to deal with and the financial issues alone would cause quite a lot of headaches for the executors - as we want a substantial portion of our estate to go to charities obviously without wills this would not happen and it would all go to family, similarly we have certain items which we want to go to members of the family and friends. In addition we have also included what happens to our pets, something which people overlook (as well as what happens to any children - as we don't have children though we didn't have that to worry about) - who gets the pets was the question. We've bequeathed them to a pet charity who will care for them for the rest of their lives in foster homes so obviously we have made a provision for the charity to receive a bequest. Don't assume that someone will take over looking after them, they are a big commitment and you don't want to foister them on someone who really doesn't want them but feels they must take them. Whilst it's not easy to think about making a will initially, it's surprising how easy it gets once you start - you won't like it at first but if you think of it as doing one last thing for your loved ones then it isn't so hard. Yes, it can be upsetting but that's just you feeling sorry for yourself to some extent although I know that it can also be upsetting thinking of how others will be affected as well. My serious advice is for you to make sure you do make wills, once you've got it done you really don't need to worry about it again unless circumstances change or you want to amend someting in it and then it is much easier to do, as you are only amending a little bit. It doesn't have to cost much - our first ones cost £50.00 for the both of us, the second one was free (part of a perk with being in a Union). Please DO make a will - your loved ones will really appreciate it when the unfortunate time comes! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJH Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Mel is absolutely right - and it needn't be a complicated process. We had never thought about making wills until we became interested in genealogy and obtained copies of old ones. These included a "home made" one in my great grandfather's handwriting from about 1911. That meant that I was able to draft the simple wills that Jill and I needed quite easily. As it happened I worked for a local authority and had a lot to do with one of the solicitors at the time so I got him to run his eye over them and make minor changes for free - but even if you have to pay a solicitor it isn't all that expensive. My Dad made a will when he married my Mum and it made things simple when he died. Mum had never had a will of her own but after Dad's death she decided that she had better have one. She wanted to make a few specific bequests but that was easy enough to sort out and document clearly. I'm an executor for an aunt's will so have a copy of it. It was drawn up by her solicitor but isn't all that different from our "home made" ones. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Hubby and I went to our solicitor 2 years ago and made ours. Last week we had Powers of Attorney drawn up which cost £100.00, just in case one of us goes 'ga ga' or even worse, receives a head injury. My Dad's Will helped to decide whether to bury or cremate him just before C.mas. Mum is altering hers because it became void once he had died so she has to make a new one. We are parts donors too so try to carry a card or if I'm on a long journey I put my SOS medallion on so that it is obvious that we are blood/organ donors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 Lizzy Interesting about the SOS medallion - where do you get them from please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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