Writing a will......

Soldato
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thinking it’s about time me and my partner make a will.

We live together but are not married or engaged.

We have a 2 year old daughter and I am a step dad to her 10 year old daughter as well.

We live in my ( on paper ) home.

Is it best to use a solicitor or these diy ones you can get.

I don’t have millions put away.

In the event of my death then I just want her to have the house and everything I own and the kids looked after of course.

No one outside of my partner and daughter’s need to be in the will either.

Anyone done this with any knowledge

Thanks
 
Associate
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We used yvonne at Marlow Wills https://www.marlowwills.co.uk/

Not a solicitor but a member of the institute of professional will writers. Cost a couple of hundred quid approx.

She did us a great mirror will and set up who gets the kids (If wife and I are wiped out) and who gets the money if me and my wife and child are wiped out.

Haven’t set up a trust yet as assets not large enough yet but plan to down the line.

Wife and I are early thirties. So many don’t bother getting a will and don’t understand that the spouse doesn’t automatically get everything without a will.
 
Soldato
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So many don’t bother getting a will and don’t understand that the spouse doesn’t automatically get everything without a will.

So whom would it go to?

Assuming there are normal circumstances, i.e. no previous marriages (or children from previous marriages), then i can't see who/how anyone could contest that.
 
Soldato
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So whom would it go to?

Assuming there are normal circumstances, i.e. no previous marriages (or children from previous marriages), then i can't see who/how anyone could contest that.

If you aren't married the partner has zero claim to on the Will, it all gets passed down to blood relatives. It's called Intestate: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/f...t-if-there-is-no-will-the-rules-of-intestacy/

In this case, if the OP died without one, everything would go to his 2 year old with his girlfriend and the 10 year old getting nothing.
 
Soldato
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Haven’t set up a trust yet as assets not large enough yet but plan to down the line.

Ahhh the old £4k+ for a Trust, save yourself from all these expenses that in fact may not work if they can prove you've done so to get around inheritance tax or paying for care when you're older. Deprivation of assets trap.
 
Soldato
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Stoke area
thinking it’s about time me and my partner make a will.

We live together but are not married or engaged.

We have a 2 year old daughter and I am a step dad to her 10 year old daughter as well.

We live in my ( on paper ) home.

Is it best to use a solicitor or these diy ones you can get.

I don’t have millions put away.

In the event of my death then I just want her to have the house and everything I own and the kids looked after of course.

No one outside of my partner and daughter’s need to be in the will either.

Anyone done this with any knowledge

Thanks

You can get free templates online, I have some from when I worked in the industry if I can find them.

Download, fill it in and the important bit is the signatures/witnesses.

Something as simple as:

"This is the last will and testament of <FULL NAME>, living at <CURRENT ADDRESS>, in the case of my death I want all my worldly possessions to pass to <GIRLFRIENDS NAME> so that she can provide a good life for <CHILD 1> and <CHILD 2>"

Print 2 copies, get some good friends or family as witnesses, anyone that is not named in the Will as a beneficiary, over 18 and is of sound mind. Best to get people a similar age too as there's less chance of them dying before you. Everyone signs it. Keep 1 copy at your home somewhere safe, keep another copy with a solicitor or family member. Good to choose who is going to be the executor of the Will as well.

Update it if circumstances change, you move, get married, split, have more kids etc.

Unless you've massively complicated estate and lots of requests it can be really simple. You can copy it, reverse the text and make an exact copy for your girlfriend too in case she dies.
 
Soldato
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Stoke area
Not necessarily. If his partner and step child are dependent on him they can make a claim against the estate, for example.

Anyone can make a claim on any Will, but:

a) It doesn't mean the courts will agree to the claim
b) It's an expensive process
c) It's time consuming
d) It's not something you need while you are grieving

What I've said is as it would be actioned outright due to the laws of intestacy.
 
Soldato
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Stoke area
I’m not saying it’s ideal, I’m just saying because of the inheritance (provision for family and dependants) act 1975 what you said isn’t accurate... in an area where accuracy is important (eg. what if someone with a partner read your post and assumed no will would result in the partner getting nothing and their child getting everything... then they died and the partner made a successful claim because she was a kept woman/house wife/whatever with a lavish lifestyle he’d been funding? That’d suck...)

If the OP died in his sleep tonight, his house and the rest of the estate will basically become his daughters minus tax's and fee's.

If the partner wanted to fight it, she could.

If he had a Will leaving it all to his daughter his girlfriend could still make a claim against it which would still suck....

My point is, intestacy laws clearly state the process that is implemented if there wasn't a Will. This is the bloodline tree we follow until we find someone. No kids, then we'll look for brothers/sisters/parents, all dead? then we'll look for cousins/uncle/aunts. All of which can put a claim in against an Estate Will or no Will and regardless of the OP's wishes.

But, to answer @Semple's question "So whom would it go to? Assuming there are normal circumstances", His daughter is the correct answer. The girlfriend then challenges the daughter for the estate.
 
Man of Honour
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Just to the left of my PC
[..]
Is it best to use a solicitor or these diy ones you can get.
[..]

The main reason to use a solicitor is to ensure that the terms of the will are clear and exactly what you intended. So yes, it's better to do that. However, if you want a very simple will (as you do) then you can do it yourself well enough. I did. Also, make sure that the location of your will is well known. When you die, the will itself will be needed. "I know what Magic_x_uk put in their will" won't cut it. The document itself, signed and witnessed, will be required. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same as dying without a will. There are will registration services that make that easier.

I'll use your post as an example of how a solicitor can be useful:

In the event of my death then I just want her to have the house and everything I own and the kids looked after of course.

So what does that actually mean? You're specifying that the house and everything you own is to go to your partner. So the kids get nothing. Not a bean. What exactly did you mean by "the kids looked after of course"? Can't ask you what you meant - you'll be dead at that point, since this is your will. A solicitor should help your word your will to make your intended meaning as clear as possible.

EDIT: There are also other possible scenarios not clearly covered by that sentence. What if by the time you die your children are adults? There are no kids then - they're not kids any more. What should they get from your estate in that situation? What if your partner dies before you do? Where do you want your estate to go then? My guess would be that in that scenario your estate would pass to her estate and be distributed according to the terms of her will...but that's only my guess. I don't know. But a solicitor should know. I did my own will, but I took care to nail it down as much as possible despite the fact that it is very simple, so that very simple will is a page of text. It would probably have been wiser to hire a solicitor. They shouldn't charge much for a simple will.
 
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