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Wills and Inheritance
I have agreed (rather stupidly) to go and give a couple of talks on Wills and Inheritance to a local women's group. Now I am quite used to lecturing other lawyers, but this group are NOT lawyers and their only interest is as Josephine Public.
If you were attending such a talk, how could I make it more interesting for you? I was thinking of splitting it into 3 sections
1 the general stuff (ie who can and can't be an exec, what a Grant of Probate is, what the intestacy rules are, why it is important to leave a Will)
2 Some general fallacies concerning Wills and Probate - you know myth debunking and all that
3 Some funny/disturbing stories and interesting miscellaneous stuff, like the shortest will, an imposter to a will/murder case, fighting over a biscuit barrel at the RCJ late one night etc
What would YOU find interesting?
If you were attending such a talk, how could I make it more interesting for you? I was thinking of splitting it into 3 sections
1 the general stuff (ie who can and can't be an exec, what a Grant of Probate is, what the intestacy rules are, why it is important to leave a Will)
2 Some general fallacies concerning Wills and Probate - you know myth debunking and all that
3 Some funny/disturbing stories and interesting miscellaneous stuff, like the shortest will, an imposter to a will/murder case, fighting over a biscuit barrel at the RCJ late one night etc
What would YOU find interesting?
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This has been in the press recently:
http://www.guardian.c...ers-rip-off-thousands
Maybe you could give your opinion of will writers v solicitors and the typical costs of both and also comment on the will writing kits available in WH Smiths and other retailers.
Lots of people don't know where they should keep their will nor how to make sure it is found.
I would like to hear more about so called living wills if that would be relevant to the talk.
Handouts would be good - in particular a flow chart of the rules of intestacy.
http://www.guardian.c...ers-rip-off-thousands
Maybe you could give your opinion of will writers v solicitors and the typical costs of both and also comment on the will writing kits available in WH Smiths and other retailers.
Lots of people don't know where they should keep their will nor how to make sure it is found.
I would like to hear more about so called living wills if that would be relevant to the talk.
Handouts would be good - in particular a flow chart of the rules of intestacy.
Barmaid - apart from slobbering at thought of the lunch you are going to have my initial thoughts are - you will know all the answers
* Why is it important to write a will?
* How do you choose excecutors & possibly make one not a benificiary i.e. your solicitor or accountant?
* Why it is important to have will written by someone with legal understanding (you will have to avoid advertising)
Will think of some more pointers from an unmarried benificaries point of view, with deceased children being executors and benificaries.
* Why is it important to write a will?
* How do you choose excecutors & possibly make one not a benificiary i.e. your solicitor or accountant?
* Why it is important to have will written by someone with legal understanding (you will have to avoid advertising)
Will think of some more pointers from an unmarried benificaries point of view, with deceased children being executors and benificaries.
As someone who used to write wills for a living, I think that you've missed something out from your list of topics. (That's probably not surprising because it's not one that you normally have to deal with!). I refer to giving instructions (or more accurately, requests) relating to the funeral. To some people, getting their funeral arrangements in order is just as important as deciding who gets their money! (I don't share that view but I know it to be true of some people).
I suggest mentioning that any directions in the will relating to the funeral are not actually binding upon whoever arranges the funeral. (It could be worth pointing out that the best way of getting the funeral required is to pay for it in advance - but even that's not guaranteed). You might also want to refer to the impracticalities of burials at sea or in the back garden. (I wrote loads of wills though for people who wanted to be buried in a cardboard coffin, both to save money and to 'get back to nature' as quickly as possible).
How about mentioning, as well, the advisability (or otherwise) of specifying who should care for the testator's (minor) children? Setting up trusts for those children (and how the income and capital can be used by the trustees) might also be relevant.
Perhaps you could also advise against naming a solicitor as an executor? That effectively means that the value of estate will automatically be reduced through legal charges. I would regard it as better to appoint friends or family members as executors, so that they could then decide for themselves whether they needed legal help when going through the probate process.
A common question on here is "How long does it take for a grant of probate to be obtained, and the estate distributed in accordance with the will?". Yes, I know it's one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions but I think that your audience might appreciate some general guidance on the matter.
Perhaps mention that witnesses are witnessing the signature on the document, not the document itself. (i.e. there is no need for them to read a single word of the will but they must actually see the will signed. Signing a will and then taking it to a relative's house for them to 'witness' it, is definitely not a good idea!).
Lastly, and most importantly, tell your audience that even if their will is perfectly drafted (by a Peterborough based barrister perhaps?), thoroughly checked by the ghosts of John Mortimer and Sir Edward Marshall Hall, double-checked by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge and Lord Justice Goldring, and witnessed by every single Member of the House Of Lords, it will carry no weight whatsoever if nobody can actually find it! (Some discussion of where to keep the will, and who to tell about its location, would seem to be in order!).
Chris
I suggest mentioning that any directions in the will relating to the funeral are not actually binding upon whoever arranges the funeral. (It could be worth pointing out that the best way of getting the funeral required is to pay for it in advance - but even that's not guaranteed). You might also want to refer to the impracticalities of burials at sea or in the back garden. (I wrote loads of wills though for people who wanted to be buried in a cardboard coffin, both to save money and to 'get back to nature' as quickly as possible).
How about mentioning, as well, the advisability (or otherwise) of specifying who should care for the testator's (minor) children? Setting up trusts for those children (and how the income and capital can be used by the trustees) might also be relevant.
Perhaps you could also advise against naming a solicitor as an executor? That effectively means that the value of estate will automatically be reduced through legal charges. I would regard it as better to appoint friends or family members as executors, so that they could then decide for themselves whether they needed legal help when going through the probate process.
A common question on here is "How long does it take for a grant of probate to be obtained, and the estate distributed in accordance with the will?". Yes, I know it's one of those 'how long is a piece of string' questions but I think that your audience might appreciate some general guidance on the matter.
Perhaps mention that witnesses are witnessing the signature on the document, not the document itself. (i.e. there is no need for them to read a single word of the will but they must actually see the will signed. Signing a will and then taking it to a relative's house for them to 'witness' it, is definitely not a good idea!).
Lastly, and most importantly, tell your audience that even if their will is perfectly drafted (by a Peterborough based barrister perhaps?), thoroughly checked by the ghosts of John Mortimer and Sir Edward Marshall Hall, double-checked by Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge and Lord Justice Goldring, and witnessed by every single Member of the House Of Lords, it will carry no weight whatsoever if nobody can actually find it! (Some discussion of where to keep the will, and who to tell about its location, would seem to be in order!).
Chris
hows about giving them an insight into the wierd and wonderful world of 18th century inventories, I used to do an hour's seminar on pre-1858 wills and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the sheer oddness and simplicity of how so called gentlemen left their 'apparel' and 'best pewter' to their son and the 'bed that I now lie in' to their daughter and their house to their wife 'for as long as she remains my widow'
This might help:
http://listverse.com/...wills-and-testaments/
http://listverse.com/...wills-and-testaments/
