Wills and children

H

Henny Penny

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I have a couple of questions regarding wills that I would appreciate help with.

We have two young children, 6 and 3. When we made our will 5 years ago, our solicitor suggested that we should not name a guardian for our children - in her opinion these things usually sort themselves out if and when the situation arises. How important is it to have a named guardian for one's children? If nobody (immediate family) wants to take them, what happens? Are they taken into state care?

My second question is regarding split of assets and inheritance tax. Is it better to leave everything to a spouse or split the assets among children also(similar to what the state does when no will is made)? What is the threshold for inheritance tax? Can money/asset be held in trust until a child is 18/21? Advice and suggestions welcome.

Thanks
 
Its more important to name a guardian if there is a close relative who might otherwise expect to take care of your children that you would like to exclude. It is important to know if the intended guardian is willing, for practical reasons. If the named guardian is unwilling to act, or if you don't name a guardian, as your solicitor said, usually someone in the family will step in. Its not necessary to name this person as guardian if there is no contest. If there is a contest, ultimately a court will decide based on health board reports if necessary. If no one is willing to act, then the state will step in.

In my opinion where you are in a happy marriage and you trust your spouse to care for your family in the event of your death, it is a good idea to leave your entire estate to your spouse. They can then distribute assets if and when they deem necessary. If you leave assets to your children in a trust, there are tax issues that your solicitor will advise you about. A trust can only be set up until your youngest child is 18. After that they can break the trust.

You can do what ever you want with your assets, however. All of these matters are best discussed with your solicitor who can go into the tax and legal ramifications with you at length.
 
You're very welcome, BUT I have only scratched the surface. Talking to your own solicitor is the best option, as much will depend on your personal circumstances. For eg I said IMO its best to leave all to your spouse, but in a situation where a family farm has been passed on for generations some people are reluctant to leave it to a spouse who might marry again after their death and thereby confer rights to a new unrelated person. Thats just one example, but of course depending on your circumstances there might be equally relevant matters to discuss.
 
Thanks again Vanilla.

My primary concern is for care of our children in the event that both myself and Mr. HP die. I suppose it's something we will really have to think carefully about .... I wonder how many people would know who best to care for their children?

As regards assets, although I have no doubt that Mr. HP will remarry when I pop off ( he has told me so:) ), I have no doubt that he will take full care of our children, so in that respect I have no reservations in leaving him everything.

My second query was more of a tax question than a legal one.

If I died tomorrow (God forbid) and left a 2million estate to my spouse he would not have to pay inheritance tax.
If he subsequently dies and my 2 children inherit the estate they will both have to pay a significant amount of tax having exceeded the threshold.

If however upon my death I leave a portion of my estate to each my children and then upon his death my spouse leaves the remainder of the remainder of the estate to them, they will benefit doubly from inheritance tax threshold.

Maybe I'm completely off base with this ... it's purely an academic question?
 
".......they will benefit doubly from inheritance tax threshold."

No, the relevant threshold is for all inheritances from parents, not an amount per parent. If the estate is likely to be of such a size, you really should sit down and talk to a solicitor or accountant who has expertise in this area.
 
Thanks for the reply. Just to clarify, the estate of the parents is classified as a single unit, even if they die years apart?
 
Yes, so the current threshold is €466,725 which applies to all inheritances or gifts from parents. However at the moment prior gifts or inheritances are counted only from 2 Dec 1988, so it is possible this date will be revised in the future- also the threshold will change every year. But there are reliefs in certain circumstances where the beneficiary lives in a house and inherits the house, where there is a family farm and the beneficiary is a farmer ( the test as to whether you are a farmer is asset based) and where there is a business involved- so that even though there is a threshold, in certain circumstances even that threshold is flexible. So, once again, its really a case of one- on- one planning with your solicitor or tax advisor.
 
hi who is entital to estate if grandparents have died and only one child living and four grandchildren from their other children
 
Henny Penny said:
When we made our will 5 years ago, our solicitor suggested that we should not name a guardian for our children - in her opinion these things usually sort themselves out if and when the situation arises.
Click to expand...
This seems crazy to me. Why would you hope that things would sort themselves out? Surely you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by sorting things out beforehand.
 
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