Writing A Will

[jw47]

My widowed sister wants to write a will. She does not own her house so will only have money to leave, she wants this to be between myself our other sister and a very good friend. My question is what if one of us pre deceases her does she then have to re write her will or in the case of myself and our sister should she add 'and/or dependants' after our names Her friend is single and has no dependants. My sister wants to write her own will and not do it via a solicitor any advice would be appreciated. Sorry forgot to mention she has no children

[Atheist]

My advice is to pay a solicitor to draw up a will. It's relatively cheap and would avoid any doubt or worry about its validity. They will cover all options e.g. who dies first etc. Why skimp on your last will and testament?

[jw47]

I agree with you Athesist but she does not want to do that.

[ubasses]

Always best to use a solicitor or a will writing company. However, to answer your question, if you or your other sister predecease her, that share will pass down to that sisters children. The friends share would form part of the residual estate and come to you 2 sisters.

[Peter Pedant]

easily he best answer is have a solicitor do it
thx ubasses
or Chris Buen chico
and not me really but hey here goes this is AB !
1. her name and address and occ befor e retirement
2. burial - burnt or offered to the crows ( ,Parsi)
3. revoke other wills
4 appoint executors ( 2 sisters)
5. special gifts - little pooky to Glady next door - thruppence to British Legion
4. residual gift - the resta my estate to ... ..
5. if Jonquil's portion is to go equally to her two kids if J is dead then use "per stirpes"
like this
https://www.hughjames.com/blog/the-meaning-of-%E2%80%9Cper-stirpes%E2%80%9D#:~:text=Wills%20or%20trusts%20sometimes%20contain,which%20means%20%E2%80%9Cby%20head%E2%80%9D.&text=That%20is%20why%20per%20stirpes%20distributions%20are%20so%20widely%20used.

8 do NOT use and/or - the will may be invalidated for uncertainty because 'and' does NOT mean anything like 'or'
9.attestation bit at the end
and bobs your uncle

none of the beneficiaries can witness the will - that may invalidate it - the two witnesses MUST be present together
and the attestation ( we two witness together and in the presence of each other blah blah blah ) is a certain form

and bobs your uncle !

even a wonky will may get p and run if everyone after the death agrees what it says

follow this advice at your own peril !

Oh once you have got a will signed of any sort make sure all parties KNOW what the will says and understand. esp the bit where if they die their portion DOES go to their kids or DOESN'T go to their kids

[AuntPollyGrey]

Tell her that if she does not want to use a solicitor then her money is highly likely NOT to go to who she wants it to go to. She can write her own Will, in her own words, and let a solicitor take a look and correct anything if necessary . He will then oversee the signing/witnessing and it will be Legal.

[Peter Pedant]

I think she has been told
more than once Pretty Pol

I have NO idea why people wont pay for wills - - a lot of "o it goes to the wife anyway" I have just redone mine as I am not sure if our family of over 70s will come out of covid unscathed

[AuntPollyGrey]

To get back to the original OP there are will writing tools available on line for around £50. They guide you through the process and put everything in Legal speak, but of course don; t give advice on the legalities of your bequeaths.
However, a basic Will where there is no Property/Land to dole out costs around £150 max -bit more for a 'mirror will'. Included i this will be advice from your Solicitor on the best way to word it, including making provisions for if one beneficiary should predecease the bequeathed. It amazes me how naive people are, and how trusting, when it comes to inheritance. They think they only have money to leave, but they also invariably have debt which has to be dealt with, even if it's just squaring up the Utility bills and paying the funeral director. Maybe show your sister some of the advice given on here and try and persuade her to go see a Solicitor. Some solicitors are backing a 'Free Will Scheme where they will do a Will for free if you give a donation to charity.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills/