We were talking about Wills earlier and
how you not only need one at any age but also what happens if you don’t have
one or if you don’t change it to keep up with ongoing changes in your life. This came to light recently as a whole family
were going on holiday together (3 generations) and what would happen if there
had been an accident in which none of them survived and who would the estates
go to, as everyone down the line was in the accident. They found it would actually all go to the
grandparents that weren’t going on the trip as they were the closest relatives
of the youngest child which everything would have gone down to. Not
that the set of grandparents didn’t get on with the other grandparents who were
not going on the trip but the brothers and sisters of the grandparents in the
accident would have got nothing and it would all have gone to a different
family altogether. It is bad enough when
someone has not made a Will at all but sometimes it is just better to think of
making one as an insurance policy rather than think of it as a Will that only
old people need. It is not tempting
fate. It doesn’t make you wish your life
away but it does ensure that any possessions you have or your children go to
where you want then to go to. I think it
should be made a necessity for everyone when they either buy a house or have a
child.
We have been watching a television
programme about people making Wills and it has brought up all sorts of
problems. The programme helps people who
own land or a company decide which is the best way to leave their estate, as
most of them want their farm or business to continue. They help them mull over the options and discuss
it with the family. Oh boy does it open
a bag of worms! All the children expect
different things and so for the business to continue it completely wipes out any
chance of a cash share for any of the children who would prefer that when the parents
pass over. Sometimes for the business to
continue it most definitely upsets at least one of the children. It makes interesting viewing because you can
see it from all the different points of view and the decisions are very hard to
make. I can see it is a lot easier for
people without land or a business to split their assets in the Will. The stupid thing is that it can cause a big
split in the family while the parents are still alive as the children know what
is going to be in the Will. Normally
children would only possibly fall out over what they get or expect to get when
their parents actually pass over rather than from the point the Will.
The worst part I suppose is if parents
of young children haven’t made a Will and so the question of who looks after
the children comes up as the parents have made no arrangement for that
eventuality, and it could be that they end up with relatives that they would
never want them to live with, so it is always best to make provision for such a
circumstance. Some of the families on
the television show were having a really hard time in working out how to split their
assets amongst the children. It is
relatively easy for a “normal” family when the only assets are the house and
other more minor things like the car etc. but when you have a company or a farm
it becomes much more complicated. A “normal”
family would probably just give the children equal shares so the house would be
sold and the money split between the children (after the last parent passes
over). If the family with a farm or a
business isn’t bothered about the farm / business after they have gone and the
children don’t work on the farm / at the business then the same thing would
apply as the farm / business would be sold and the assets split. What happened with the families on television
though is that the parents wanted the farm / business to continue afterwards
and one or more children worked there. As
they didn’t want it to be sold then how could it carry on with one or more of
the children working there when the other children would gain nothing from it
and would rather have their share in cash.
The ones who worked there couldn’t afford to buy them out and the
parents wanted the farm / business to continue.
This caused a lot of problems as you can imagine. But it does bring to light how important it
is to make a Will.
And on that note, here is
todays trivia snippet:
Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than
left-handed people.
I read this today and it made
my chuckle so I have included it here:
1981 &
2005 - Two Interesting Years:
Interesting Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married.
2.
3.
4. The Pope died.
Interesting Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married.
2.
3.
4. The Pope died.
Lesson to be learned:
The next time Charles gets married, someone should warn the Pope.
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