Seriously, I’m writing my Will at the moment. Not being morbid, but 60% of brits don’t (write one) and as my health is far from good, I’m over half a century on the outside, fully fossilised on the inside, with a mental age of about twelve, I thought I should update it 8) Seems sensible eh?
I ditched my previous solicitor due to their thoroughly unprincipled business practice. But an interesting angle cropped up in writing my new Will: The Inheritance (Provision For Family And Dependents) Act 1975. My ditched solicitor didn’t tell me about this, I’m glad the new one did… Basically, you have to describe your relationship with members of your family so that if greed overtakes them, the courts can see good reason why you think they should all jump into a vat of concentrated fuming nitric acid.
In a humourous note I kicked off with:
“They have been many things, but never have I ever considered them to be a part of my family. If I wanted to put on my humourous writing hat, I’d describe them as a seriously dysfunctional conglomeration of molecular aggregates. And that’s being nice about it.”
The not so funny part is describing in detail the gory details of the past and my relationship to each one of them. I really hadn’t expected this as part of the Will process, but it’s necessary to protect my estate and make sure my wishes are observed. So there’s the emotional pull of dragging up the past and it takes weeks to get that kinda stuff out of the psyche… maybe longer.
Once all that is out the way, I shall firmly revert to most outrageous sense of humour!
I usually find if I write from memory (i.e. actual events) it tends to take maybe a month before I fully clear it out of my mind. Things tend to reverberate in dream space and occasional “flashes”. But I think that’s quite a common response!
I`ve never felt such an urge to wrap my arms around someone, and say, Be brave! These bogeymen are real, but if you consume copious quantities of narcotics and alcohol, the pain becomes bearable."
It couldve been me writing your post, the only difference being, my bogeymen/women, are all non-biologicals...theyre my in laws. Our paths diverge slightly, inasmuch as, you have an Estate. I on the other hand, am, ‘In a state’. A state of penury.
Dont worry FurrTrap this isnt a begging letter! Tis one of commiseration.
My penurious state has be brought about by bad Fund Management. My Fund managers (wife and two daughters), have invested all my money in retail outlets: John Lewis, Selfridges etc. So! At least they`ve spared me the expense of having a solicitor draw up a will.
Ah well, c`est la vie.
Merry Christmas FurrTrap
vic
Understandable, I think a lot of people do this when the bogeymen surface. To be a master of the mind is the greatest warrior of all. Not claiming to be one, but to still the mind every time bad stuff surfaces, eventually it will recede. Occasionally I drink alcohol, but that’s quite rare and in moderation as it wrecks my already twisted giblets LOL In the past, I have used top-notch grass for very specific shamanic practice, I’ve only ever found it a truly healing herb.
Ouch! Guess I’m fortunate, being single I’ve never experienced irksome in-laws, and I’ve walked away from the entire family - best thing I’ve ever done in my life. No more hatred and abuse to contend with!
Ah well, the Estate being just a formal term, in reality, 12 years of disability have well and truly stuffed my finances. But I am ever hopeful the creative pulse can turn things around… and I believe that for everyone. The power of the creative is far greater than anything else.
OUCH! That’s not an easy one… Hopefully things will turn around and maybe they can help to restore the balance, if they’ve been spending all the money!
And I hope under the circumstances you have a peaceful and enjoyable Christmas period.
On a serious note, do you need my full name or will the solicitors accept “creator of Scrivener” as a legal beneficiary?
Actually, I really do have to write a will myself. Okay, I’m only in my thirties (I like to say “only” as though that is actually young) and relatively healthy, but I have already been run over by a bus (no kidding) so I shouldn’t be taking any chances. Plus, being the marriage-is-a-piece-of-paper kind of person, I need to make sure my partner and kids get anything I have should I meet a red bendy bus again in the future… I like the idea of going into details about family relationships, and am a bit gutted that my family is so small so that I won’t be able to go into tall tales about lots of distant relatives. Oh well.
I grew up in a family of lawyers and almost became one myself. Whenever a client declared that he never got formally married, Dad would ask how long the partnership had lasted. If it was more than seven years, he assured the client that under common law he was well and truly married.
Since US common law descends from English common law, I would bet the same condition prevails in the UK. That’s mainly to protect survivors to a rightful inheritance of property, which doubtless has long since become commingled.
The Hon. J. Corgan is the only professed lawyer on the forum, so perhaps she can give you some real counsel. In closing, may I wish you a Merry Christmas and please stay away from buses, since we all want to see 1.5 and many later iterations come forth.
Wow. I think it doesn’t work like that in the Netherlands. My aunt, on her deathbed, got married to her boyfriend of 10+ years, just so her death wouldn’t inconvenience him (in the totally practical sense, they shared a home, but it was all in her name). Both a sad and a good thing.
Personally, I’ve been going from worried to non-worried. As I am not married nor living together, my ‘estate’ will go to my parents, which means my mother. I do on occasion wonder about my dog, who would take care of her and all. I know I can create and sign a document stating what I want to happen (though not actually a ‘will’, but it will weigh heavily in court). Perhaps I should create one, it can also serve as a way to assign a legal ‘guardian’ should I get incapacitated in the legal sense.
Right, time for some more port!
But I do need to think about this, even though I’m ‘only’ in my late twenties…
Although all who know me, freely acknowledge Im never wrong, dont take this as gospel, but: up until quite recently Common Law Marriages in the UK, had no legal recognition, irrespective of how long youd been together. Flying around my empty cranium is a recollection that, legislation is being enacted, to alter this state of affairs. Im not mixing this up with the, Same Sex Partnership, stuff.
Again, if memory serves: A will was/is the only way to ensure your partners rights. Even having said that, without being condemned ooppps!! sorry! married, your estate would be subject to Inheritance Tax. Whereas, spouse-to-spouse, it isn`t.
[quote=“KB”]
On a serious note, do you need my full name or will the solicitors accept “creator of Scrivener” as a legal beneficiary? {/quote]
A full name is always desirable, together with an address and other contact details. That way, there’s no ambiguity about who the beneficiary is. Furthermore, not having up to date contact details for a beneficiary will incur needless legal expenses (which will be deducted from the estate).
The way I’ve done it - 3 documents:
1 the will
2 solicitor instructions
3 beneficiary instructions
1 who gets what.
2 details on finances, who to contact, inheritance act etc.
3 useful info for beneficiaries, special instructions.
All very boring I know, but 60% of UK residents die intestate… Not good.
I know not about Holland or the UK, but I do know that in the US, even if you have a small estate (which might actually be larger than you’d imagine), no spouse or kids or even real estate, it’s still a good idea to make a will, whether using a lawyer or a will kit or book. By spelling it out, you’ll save whoever benefits a lot of time and trouble, in court or a lawyer’s office, even if the law is clear who gets what. Not that you’ll be around to receive their gratitude, but still…
Myself being a tame husband to a wife who happened to be working as a lawyer in Germany, where we have Statutory Law, and Australia (Common Law). I gather it would be funny indeed to be able to exclude certain parts of ones family from inheriting even something, but as far as I know that is nearly impossible to prevent in the case of ones descendants or spouse; in Germany and probably a lot of other countries as well.
Pity.
Probably I should consider migrating into UK or US.
In my case no descendents or spouse and a family that never was. So for me, the Inheritance Act makes a great deal of sense, at least there’s a provision for those who have strong reasons why blood isn’t thicker than water
In the past, I have used top-notch grass for very specific shamanic practice, I’ve only ever found it a truly healing herb.
