Last Will and Testament (kits).

[Gordon R]

I considered a DIY will a few years ago. I thought it can't be hard - maybe a bit of Googling required. In the end we got it done professionally. Professionals think of things that never occurred to us. The what if scenarios. Who should get what, but, almost as important, who should never get anything.

Got it written in that our former daughter in law could never get her hands on a penny, nor could my older sister, who plundered my late mother's finances. 

In the overall scheme of things, it is relatively cheap and worth it.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Peace of mind is priceless!

[Vince Green]

I'm going through the options with my solicitor at the moment. If you 'gift' a property or money to an offspring now (when you are alive) its a taxable transaction. All gifts are taxable, theoretically even the socks you got for Christmas. The rules are much tighter these days

Also, make sure all your dependents know which solicitor has the will and what it says. Its far from unknown for dodgy relatives to chuck self penned wills on the fire if they don't say what they want them to say..

Anybody can contest a will and many more do so now, the wording has to be watertight  

Edited January 26, 2021 by Vince Green

[blackbird]

14 hours ago, London Best said:

My only daughter said, “I know what I’m going to get. You will spend all the money on shooting and I’ll just get the house and a worn-out shotgun.”

YEP!

Sorry double post 👍

Edited January 26, 2021 by blackbird

[Dave-G]

5 minutes ago, blackbird said:

Unless you have to go into a care home then she only gets your worn out shotgun. Makes me ####### mad I have seen it happen many times.

That makes a very good case for equity release to get her on the property ladder earlier to my mind: Better to lose some of it in interest than most of it to the council.

[Lloyd90]

1 minute ago, blackbird said:

Unless you have to go into a care home then she only gets your worn out shotgun. Makes me ####### mad I have seen it happen many times.

Which bit makes you mad? 
 

People having to pay for their care homes or people signing their houses over to their kids so the council has to pay for them? 
 

It’s a double edged sword. 
 

On the one hand you’ve got a person who has a house they no longer need as their residence worth hundreds of thousands but the expectation is that the tax payer funds their care so they can give all the money and house to their kids ... 

 

On the other hand people say they have worked all their lives and want to give the home to their kids to leave them something... 

The ‘I’ve paid my stamp all my life’ argument is often thrown around but I think when looked at most people don’t pay in anywhere near the amount they get back overall. 
 

The system is grossly unfair, full of loopholes and people trying to fiddle it. 
 

All you can do at the end of the day is try to look after yourself and your own because nobody else is going to see you done right. 

[blackbird]

10 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

Which bit makes you mad? 
 

People having to pay for their care homes or people signing their houses over to their kids so the council has to pay for them? 
 

It’s a double edged sword. 
 

On the one hand you’ve got a person who has a house they no longer need as their residence worth hundreds of thousands but the expectation is that the tax payer funds their care so they can give all the money and house to their kids ... 

 

On the other hand people say they have worked all their lives and want to give the home to their kids to leave them something... 

The ‘I’ve paid my stamp all my life’ argument is often thrown around but I think when looked at most people don’t pay in anywhere near the amount they get back overall. 
 

The system is grossly unfair, full of loopholes and people trying to fiddle it. 
 

All you can do at the end of the day is try to look after yourself and your own because nobody else is going to see you done right. 

And then you have the lazy ##### that have never worked & they get the same care. 

 

16 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, I think WH Smith sell them so you can maybe take a look, I'm spending all my loot 🤔😁

This man has the right idea.

Edited January 26, 2021 by blackbird

[Lloyd90]

1 minute ago, blackbird said:

And then you have the lazy ##### that have never worked & they get the same care. 

Potentially yes. Never worked or spent all their money on fags and booze. 
 

But then again there’s some who never had two pennies to rub together. 
 

 

Some of the Asian families do it the right way, they keep the older relative living with them and care for them, then when they pass they have the house and all the money. Seems pretty fair that, although not always possible with certain care needs. 
 

I had some real awful families when working in the hospital, wanted the most ridiculous care homes they could get. Weren’t happy when you told them they had to pay a top-up. 
 

Or some families who didn’t care about the relatives care just wanted the money. Awful people. 
 

Best bet is to cash out everything and spend it all before your too old to enjoy it!!! 

 

[Lampwick]

3 hours ago, Lloyd90 said:

You need to do it years before you have any sort of care needs or disability or something. 
 

If you get assessed by the council for home care then the next week sign your house over to someone else after you’ve had all the info on charges for future care they will say you’ve done it to avoid future fees. 
 

If you’ve done it years and years before you ever needed care they’d have a hard time proving why you did it.

👍 my boy would kick me out though! 

[oldypigeonpopper]

40 minutes ago, blackbird said:

And then you have the lazy ##### that have never worked & they get the same care. 

 

This man has the right idea.

Hello, I will add I do not have much loot but I am comfortable living my life, as long as I can get out a few days a week to the farm or fishing and keep the motor on the road a few more years,  I do not have a will but one of my sons has his name on the accounts and I have pre paid a funeral, much sorted realy, for anyone much younger and maybe with family it is a good idea to have a will in place, 

[clangerman]

1 hour ago, Lloyd90 said:

Which bit makes you mad? 
 

People having to pay for their care homes or people signing their houses over to their kids so the council has to pay for them? 
 

It’s a double edged sword. 
 

On the one hand you’ve got a person who has a house they no longer need as their residence worth hundreds of thousands but the expectation is that the tax payer funds their care so they can give all the money and house to their kids ... 

 

On the other hand people say they have worked all their lives and want to give the home to their kids to leave them something... 

The ‘I’ve paid my stamp all my life’ argument is often thrown around but I think when looked at most people don’t pay in anywhere near the amount they get back overall. 
 

The system is grossly unfair, full of loopholes and people trying to fiddle it. 
 

All you can do at the end of the day is try to look after yourself and your own because nobody else is going to see you done right. 

if you fiddle the system you have denied care to other people who have fairly paid their dues but on a low wage or large family have nothing left system is unfair but you are only remembered for what you done not what you had if the house has to go it goes i will not be remembered for cheating the sick and dying 

[Lloyd90]

18 minutes ago, clangerman said:

if you fiddle the system you have denied care to other people who have fairly paid their dues but on a low wage or large family have nothing left system is unfair but you are only remembered for what you done not what you had if the house has to go it goes i will not be remembered for cheating the sick and dying 

I can see both sides to it. However, In what way have your denied care to anyone? No one gets left without care. 
 

Is it fiddling the system? Or using the system to your advantage? 
 

The very people in this thread who have signed their property over to their kids etc haven’t broken any laws or done anything illegal. 
 

It’s very similar to people who are self employed through a company despite being the only employee to avoid a lot of tax. 
 

They’re just working with the system we have. 
 

 

A hell of a lot more would sign over properties if they had the forethought. 

Trust me some families get very combative when they find out the home is to be used for care costs. 

[clangerman]

5 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

I can see both sides to it. However, In what way have your denied care to anyone? No one gets left without care. 
 

Is it fiddling the system? Or using the system to your advantage? 
 

The very people in this thread who have signed their property over to their kids etc haven’t broken any laws or done anything illegal. 
 

It’s very similar to people who are self employed through a company despite being the only employee to avoid a lot of tax. 
 

They’re just working with the system we have. 
 

 

A hell of a lot more would sign over properties if they had the forethought. 

Trust me some families get very combative when they find out the home is to be used for care costs. 

i get you my lot are like vultures when someone dies just don’t plan on the conversations i been in at funerals about the deceased stashing their houses and assets being applied to me system does stink but that’s no excuse to cheat it 

[old'un]

What I cannot get my head around is what care homes charge, I know someone who was recently in a care home and he was paying £800 a week, this was a care home not a nursing home, how do they get to such figures for looking after someone who put very little demand on the staff or the homes facilities.

[AVB]

37 minutes ago, clangerman said:

if you fiddle the system you have denied care to other people who have fairly paid their dues but on a low wage or large family have nothing left system is unfair but you are only remembered for what you done not what you had if the house has to go it goes i will not be remembered for cheating the sick and dying 

Socialist twaddle. 

[Lloyd90]

22 minutes ago, clangerman said:

i get you my lot are like vultures when someone dies just don’t plan on the conversations i been in at funerals about the deceased stashing their houses and assets being applied to me system does stink but that’s no excuse to cheat it 

 

At least you can hold your head up then when your dead and your kids are left with nout, whilst others leave their kids with their house worth a few hundred grand... 

23 minutes ago, old'un said:

What I cannot get my head around is what care homes charge, I know someone who was recently in a care home and he was paying £800 a week, this was a care home not a nursing home, how do they get to such figures for looking after someone who put very little demand on the staff or the homes facilities.

 

£800 is cheap around here. Most are pushing £1000+ and nursing these days are pushing £1,200-£1,500. 

 

[old'un]

29 minutes ago, clangerman said:

i get you my lot are like vultures when someone dies just don’t plan on the conversations i been in at funerals about the deceased stashing their houses and assets being applied to me system does stink but that’s no excuse to cheat it 

Don't see how you are cheating the system when the average life expectancy for someone entering a care home is just two years, yes, you are correct the system does stink when they take around 75k for those two years, someone is making some serious money from the system, if I am able, I hope most of our assets go to our families and yes we have made wills to this end.

 

5 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

 

At least you can hold your head up then when your dead and your kids are left with nout, whilst others leave their kids with their house worth a few hundred grand... 

 

£800 is cheap around here. Most are pushing £1000+ and nursing these days are pushing £1,200-£1,500. 

 

How do they justify such sums?

[Vince Green]

2 hours ago, Lloyd90 said:

 
 

Best bet is to cash out everything and spend it all before your too old to enjoy it!!! 

 

Or sell the house and put the money in a bank in India, Cyprus or Israel like people I know have done. Then the council can't get their hands on it.

[clangerman]

10 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

 

At least you can hold your head up then when your dead and your kids are left with nout, whilst others leave their kids with their house worth a few hundred grand... 

 

 

they are both worth more than me already but i’m sure they would be content with just the morals i installed in them 

[Lloyd90]

1 minute ago, old'un said:

1) Don't see how you are cheating the system when the average life expectancy for someone entering a care home is just two years, yes, you are correct the system does stink when they take around 75k for those two years, someone is making some serious money from the system, if I am able, I hope most of our assets go to our families and yes we have made wills to this end.

 

2) How do they justify such sums?

I have numbered your points for reply, hope you don't mind:

 

1) You will only takes effect after you die, for some people there is nothing left by the time that comes around. If you are really wanting to leave your estate to your kids look into it carefully. 

 

2) The building's alone cost a fortune, its a big investment. Local authorities and the Government decided to privitise the industry as they didn't want to spend the money on upkeep, and all the buildings as well as other costs.

Those private companies have to invest millions to build a new care home (a lot of the older ones were closed down when they changed the regulartions and they weren't up to fire standards etc). 

Now if you had to invest say £5,000,000 (reasonable for a decent sized care home), you would want a return on your investment that matched the level of investment and risk involved. 

 

I have some family who are fortunate enough to be very wealthy. They get a very good return on their money simply by sticking it in an investment company and someone else does all the work for them, and they just sit back and live off the cash. 

So if you want someone to invest a few million quid into your company, or you are doing it yourself, the returns have to be good, otherwise people simply won't invest in that market in the first place. 

 

It's a high risk industry to be involved in, local authorities and government are a nuisance to try and get money out of, which will be known by anyone who's ever done any work for them. On top of that its a massive responsibility and a lot of work, then the staff you get are sadly not exactly highly skilled professionals, its a minimum wage deal for people mostly in that skill set.

 

If I had several million quid to invest in something it wouldn't be a care home, that's for certain. 

[Vince Green]

16 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

 

 

£800 is cheap around here. Most are pushing £1000+ and nursing these days are pushing £1,200-£1,500. 

 

£1000 is cheap round here. Also the care homes are sneaky, once my Aunt was in her home and settled every 1st Jan they sent us a letter to say the fees are going up another £100. It happened every year

Edited January 26, 2021 by Vince Green

[Lloyd90]

5 minutes ago, Vince Green said:

Or sell the house and put the money in a bank in India, Cyprus or Israel like people I know have done. Then the council can't get their hands on it.

but the Cypriat government might take it  

[old'un]

19 minutes ago, Lloyd90 said:

I have numbered your points for reply, hope you don't mind:

 

1) You will only takes effect after you die, for some people there is nothing left by the time that comes around. If you are really wanting to leave your estate to your kids look into it carefully. 

 

2) The building's alone cost a fortune, its a big investment. Local authorities and the Government decided to privitise the industry as they didn't want to spend the money on upkeep, and all the buildings as well as other costs.

Those private companies have to invest millions to build a new care home (a lot of the older ones were closed down when they changed the regulartions and they weren't up to fire standards etc). 

Now if you had to invest say £5,000,000 (reasonable for a decent sized care home), you would want a return on your investment that matched the level of investment and risk involved. 

 

I have some family who are fortunate enough to be very wealthy. They get a very good return on their money simply by sticking it in an investment company and someone else does all the work for them, and they just sit back and live off the cash. 

So if you want someone to invest a few million quid into your company, or you are doing it yourself, the returns have to be good, otherwise people simply won't invest in that market in the first place. 

 

It's a high risk industry to be involved in, local authorities and government are a nuisance to try and get money out of, which will be known by anyone who's ever done any work for them. On top of that its a massive responsibility and a lot of work, then the staff you get are sadly not exactly highly skilled professionals, its a minimum wage deal for people mostly in that skill set.

 

If I had several million quid to invest in something it wouldn't be a care home, that's for certain. 

Think you should look again at the profits these care homes are making.

Apart from the outlay for the land/building (which is an asset) I still cannot see how it cost that much to look after an 80 year old bloke, the old boy I knew (now deceased) made very little demand on the home, he ate very little and watched TV most of the day but it cost him £115k for the privilege.

Profits for care homes last year was 1.5bn, someone is making serious money from the care home business.

[Lloyd90]

2 hours ago, old'un said:

Think you should look again at the profits these care homes are making.

Apart from the outlay for the land/building (which is an asset) I still cannot see how it cost that much to look after an 80 year old bloke, the old boy I knew (now deceased) made very little demand on the home, he ate very little and watched TV most of the day but it cost him £115k for the privilege.

Profits for care homes last year was 1.5bn, someone is making serious money from the care home business.

Yes, that was exactly my point. 
 

They invest millions with the expectation they made significant profits. If you want to take out a loan to open a care home the banks / investment companies want around 15-17% interest due to being a high risk industry. So the homes have to make a lot more profit just to repay their overheads. 
 

Once the building etc is paid for the profits are big. 
 

If you can find someone who’s willing to invest millions of pounds into an industry for almost no profit feel free to point them in the direction of the industry. 
 

The government and local authorities decided to privatise the industry when they closed down all the council run homes. 

[Vince Green]

3 hours ago, old'un said:

Think you should look again at the profits these care homes are making.

Apart from the outlay for the land/building (which is an asset) I still cannot see how it cost that much to look after an 80 year old bloke, the old boy I knew (now deceased) made very little demand on the home, he ate very little and watched TV most of the day but it cost him £115k for the privilege.

Profits for care homes last year was 1.5bn, someone is making serious money from the care home business.

There was a man who used to come shooting with us a few years back. He seemed very wealthy, nice car, two sons at expensive private school etc all the trappings. But he never seemed to be "at work", always free to go shooting and he did a lot of the time. Well out of our league in that respect.

I wondered for ages what he did for a living, it turned out he owned a care home or two