The Weird World of Wills

25 ^th July 2024 The Weird World of Wills  Deborah Wylie       

Debs is a member of Grantham Sunrisers; they meet at 07.00 and by 8.30 are off to work.  She’s a qualified Will writer at G&T Wills.  All documents are drafted by the legal team so in an unregulated world, they have chosen to be regulated.  She wanted to be a primary school teacher when she left school, but felt her lack of singing ability put that out of the question.  Her teacher wanted her to go to university to study maths and German, but she opted for a business studies course at a polytechnic. Unfortunately, her second husband was a domestic abuser, so she became homeless and penniless, with two children and got work as a carer, from which she learnt a great deal about families, empathy and care. She then trained in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Coaching and Personality Profiling which certainly comes in handy when dealing with families.  Luckily, she discovered Will writing and this is where she stayed.  The first question she covered was: “Why now?” Generally, it’s about a change of circumstances: buying a house, having a child, divorce, re-marriage or a shock diagnosis.  Youngsters often say “I have nothing, so I don’t need a will”, but Debs would say you need to ensure that what happens is what you want as it can get complicated.  ‘Living together’ is not the same as being married, if one of the pair dies the estate goes to the family, not the partner. Getting married can negate your will, but getting the right documents can protect part of the estate for the children.

She then posed a question that she is often asked “can I leave my money to the dog?” The answer is NO, as animals are classed as chattels, but clauses can be added to make provision for care of the animal, including a “Trust of Imperfect Obligation!”. That’s the ‘cheerful’ bit dealt with, next comes ‘funeral arrangements.’  Many men ask for a ‘Viking Funeral’, the best you could get is your ashes placed in a long boat and sailed out to sea! Direct cremation is currently in vogue, but Debs advice is ‘get the right funeral director first, for your family’s sake’ A few anecdotes followed about asking her Mum about spreading her father’s ashes on Doncaster Race-course, but apparently her father hated his job there as groundsman! Wishes happen like “I want to go on holiday” achieved by taking a few ashes in a Sun-tan lotion bottle!  Also whether to scatter immediately or wait to scatter ‘together’? With Gifts, Jewellery, collections, musical instrument, etc it is best to think about who might benefit most from the gift. What can be protected? People ask about Inheritance tax and care home fees and Debs said always get the correct legal advice as circumstances differ. She offered her 5 KEY Questions, for peace of mind:

1. Where is your original signed Will?
2. Who are your executors, are they still valid
3. Have your circumstances changed since you wrote your Will?
4. Is your LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney in place
5. Do you know where your Deeds to your property are? 

Debs then fielded a number of questions about funeral plans, natural burial grounds, etc.

Bill proposed the vote of thanks, apologising for his phone call during the presentation, but mentioning that it was from one of his sons checking that he’s still alive and well! He felt Debs had made a potentially ‘dry’ subject interesting, informative and entertaining with her many anecdotes and asides.  But there were clear messages and in particular the need to keep things up to date, then asking members to join him with a warm round of applause.                   AR