To Will or Not to Will ?

W

Will

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My parents want to make a will leaving their home to myself.
They are joint owners (no mortgage).
I am the 'only child' so there is no complications with fighting siblings !

They have been quoted Euro80 by a solicitor who said they need 2 wills because they are joint-owners.

How complicated is it to draw up such a will given that no other assets are involved - just simply pass the home to their only son.
If one parent dies the other becomes full owner - is this correct ? Then when the other parent dies the property passes to the offspring (me).

Wouldn't all this happen automatically anyway without a will ?
Do they really need a will for this situation ?
 
It is not at all complicated to draw up the sort of will outlined above. But then, €80.00 is not at all dear.

You are probably correct that all will come to pass as outlined by you without there being any will. But you would feel awfully stupid if - having told your parents not to bother making a will - some sort of bizarre circumstance were to emerge so as to deprive you of some of your inheritance. (example - what if your father sired another child in his youth, one he perhaps doesn't even know about, and this kid turns up to put you out of the house?)


Everybody who owns property should have a will.
 
I think you can do up a will for free with the citizens advice bureau!
 
The type of will you're talking about here is a mutual will. I would be very wary of a layman messing about with anything other than a very very basic will.

It may cost you €80 now, but it would cost you far more to sort out any mess arising from even a small mistake. You're better off spending the 80 now to get it done right.
 
To will or not to will

Is the 80 euro not a red herring.
Does it not cost up to 3% of total estate when it goes to probate.
That to me is excessive and totally unjustifiable,
but i could be wrong with this.
 
To will or not to will

You need to distinguish (a) making a Will from (b)
on death, extracting a Grant of Probate to the estate of the person who made the will.

Two entirely separate issues.

Many people as executors or beneficiaries now extract their own Probate. Percentage fees in Probate are no longer usual and in any event most people have enough sense to shop around.

sally
 
Probate questions

Is taking out Probate on a will essential?

Say, if siblings are willing to sign over their interest in the family home to one sibling living there, could they do that without the whole Probate business?

Then, if approaching a solicitor to do the Probate, what should I know beforehand and roughly how much does the process actually cost? i.e. the percentage charged by solicitors?

Also, has anyone taken out probate personally? What was the process like? Was it reasonably simple to handle as a layperson? What was the experience like?
 
Re: Free Will with many credit unions

If your parents are members of a credit union many of them allow free wills through solicitors.
 
tax on inheritance sans will

Seem to remember someone (not here) saying that if you don't make a will then the inheritance can be taxed up to 33% - any truth in this?
 
Probate questions

> Is taking out Probate on a will essential?

I don't think so although I'm not clear on the implications of not doing so or the relevant pros and cons involved. My own father's will didn't go to probate. Everything passed to my mother and there were no complicating factors so she was able to transfer all assets into her name without any hassle. However I'm not sure how the lack of probate might affect more complicated or contentious situations...
 
Probate

Myself and my sister carried out the Probate on my mothers will - simple straight forward. Contact the Probate office and ask for the relevant forms. When you return them you will have to wait about 12 weeks for an appointment with a Probate officer. People at the Probate office are very helpful and will give you as much guidance as you need. This will save you a large fee that would normally go to a solicitor.
As far as I can remember every will must go to Probate. My father's will did not but once my mother died we had to probate his will first and then my mother's so it is best to do this at the time.
Hope this helps.
 
Re: Probate

lucky sisters to be able to complete probate together. My situation as follows
Mother left will, instruction:-
estate to be divided equally between 3 siblings.
Executor being my sister. The will was properly drawn up by Mothers solicitor. My sister took out probate and sold property concerned to her daughter for knock down price and the remaining two received their share of the daughters purchase price.
I consulted my solicitor and he advised me there is nothing I could do to get my real share of the property. Why make a will? How does one safeguard against this happening. willow
 
Executors duties

"I consulted my solicitor and he advised me there is nothing I could do to get my real share of the property"

This is not true.

Either the facts are not quite as clear-cut as presented by you, or you were badly advised. An executor has a duty to realise the assets in a responsible way, and selling assets to a child of the executor at a knock-down price would be a clear breach of this duty, for which you would have a clear legal remedy.

Just to be clear, you would not (usually) be able to actually prevent the executor selling the house, but you would be entitled to take proceedings (for compensation)against an executor who had sold an asset for demonstrably less than its market value.
 
Re: Executors duties

thanks for your prompt reply. The facts are, as far as I can explain, as stated. My solicitor has advised me that the barrister whom he contacted in regard to this matter has advised him that it would be difficult to establish a claim.
Before the sale the executor presented a valuation from a local auctioneer stating that the value of the property was 'X' . I made it clear to the executor, through the solicitor handling the probate, that I considered this valuation to be very low compared to similar properties that had been sold at the same time and same location.
Some months later he informed that he had sold the property disregarding my instructions for X - Y'. Yes X - Y.
My solicitor feels that to prove that the auctioneers valuation was inaccurate may be difficult as the occupant may claim to have done repairs or improvements should we make a claim now. It was about 15 months ago since the girl moved in.
My solicitor had been kept informed of the events as they happened. I feel very let down by my solicitor who in hindsight should have advised me to have the house valued myself while the probate was being addressed. I feel confined by this public forum to give more information.
I would be very grateful if you have any positive advise for me. Willow
 
Re: Executors duties

You might need to post some of the figures (X & Y) to give people a better idea of your concerns.

One option might be to get a new solicitor.
 
Re: Executors duties

rainyday, the figures relating to the sale, I recken lowest market value, the property was sold below 27% of its market value.
Is the period of time which has elapsed a problem for appointing another solicitor?
 
Re: Executors duties

I recken lowest market value, the property was sold below 27% of its market value
Click to expand...
And just to be 100% clear, the market value you are basing this on was the one from the independent valuer - right?
 
Re: Executors duties

the market value on which the 27% is based is the value of other similar properties in the area at the time of the sale. The independent valuers estimate was undercut by 7%.
The challenge is with the auctioneers valuation which is not in line with property values, in the area, at the time. The valuation was given by an auctioneer friend of the Occupiers Mother.
I think we would need to challenge the auctioneers valuation. Two similar properties, in the same area, were sold in the same time frame which could be used for comparison. thanks willow.
 
Re: Executors duties

I'm starting to understand why your solicitor was reluctant to take this further. It really isn't as simple as saying 'two other similar properties were sold for higher prices' in the area. How do you know the real prices at which the other properties were sold? How 'similar' is 'similar' - have you got a professional opinion stating that the three houses were in a comparible price range. As a first step, can you get an alternative auctioneer/valuer to give you a written valuation of your property by comparison to the other properties?

If you reckon the auctioneer was misbehaving, you should make a formal complaint to the IAVI.
 
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