Living Will

lululu

Hello everyone, I don't often start a thread but like to contribute if something interests me. but this has been on my mind for a while now so that probably means that I should be doing something about it. Maybe I am rather concerned about medical matters i don't know but here is my question. I know I could find info easily on't net but I would like personal reccomendations please. has anyone arranged a 'Living Will' and can you advise any particular company. I am a little orphan and no-one loves me so it has to be water-tight. I don't want long lost loving relatives crawling out of the woodwork claiming my hard earned tuppence.

Maybe one for you Joseph you seem to be a reliable sorce of info.

lululu

Thanks Del, I was just going out when i spotted your reply.
Prolonging life (or not) is the main thing to me but also I did not relalise one will could not be for the both purposes. Obviously I have a lot to learn.

valval

this has started me thinking we do not have a will and have not told any one what i want doing with my ashes (scared stiff of being buried alive) where does one look to find where your ashes can be scattered in a forrest and are cardboard coffins any good???? i must kick my self up the bum i can not get rid of this down feeling not sure where it has come from but needs kicking into touch val

lululu

Thanks for the replies, That is interesting Rehab I will look into that maybe a charity that is going to benefit would be a good idea. Val it would be a good idea to leave this till you are feeling better, you should not be contemplating this when you are feeling down. It should not be a sad affair, it is just another practicallity, part of life's long term plans. - Oh I nearly forgot cardboard coffins are ok, they are fit for purpose, I heared a nice story about a man who did not want fancy funeral instead he wanted his ashes to go to a place where he and his late wife had enjoyed holidays so he left his money for his ofspring to have a 'once in a lifetime' holiday and scatter his and his wife's ashes while they were there.

dreamdaisy

Mr DD and me did our wills just after our marriage, it seemed the sensible thing to do and it is a necessity unless one actually wants the government to have it all - oddly enough we didn't, they take enough during one's lifetime, there is no need to give them anything extra. Instructions about the distribution of your estate can be anything you wish, if you have drawn up a will there is not much anyone can do about it without incurring some expense to themselves.

I thought that a living will was to do with instructions not to prolong life - it is a different beast to the inheritance-type thing. DD

skezier

Hi Lulu,

I got a death and living will, both different as the cover different things. Mine were 40 quid a peace and done by a solicitor while he had an offer on.

You can do your own but the legalities on living wills is a bit vague..... they are testament to your wishes but may not be legally binding if they are challenged either by the wood work dwellers or the health system.

There is also this thing that you talk to a consultant about the living side as well so it goes on your notes though the solicitor said thats not necessarily needed in the long run it would be if there were a decision to be made that you couldn't make and they didn't know what you wanted.

That would depend on your risks etc as its easy to have that one too soon really. Cris x

lululu

Thanks DD and Chris there obviously more to this than I thought I must look into it.

'Woodwork Dwellers' - I love it! I suppose most families have at least one.

tillytop

Hello!

Hubby and I did our wills earlier this year using the charity free wills service. We wanted to leave some money to the British Heart Foundation, so accessed the service through them, but I know that other charities offer the same service. What happens is that the charity sends you a form to complete, together with a list of participating solicitors in your local area. You then contact the solicitor direct to make the will, sign the form, and the charity then pays the bill. You should be able to find out how to do this by looking at the website(s) of any charities you are interested in. I think that, by law, the charities cannot oblige you to leave money to them if you use the free wills service but I think it would be a bit cheeky to use the free service and not to do so. Be aware though that the service covers only basic wills and if your affairs are more complicated, you might need to pay the difference. As others have said, living wills are something different and would not be covered.

Having done some research beforehand, we found lots of companies offering cheap, online will-making services but we felt that it would be very easy to end up with an invalid will that way, so opted to do it via a face to face meeting with a solicitor.

FYI, standard solicitor quotes for simple will-writing were, if I remember rightly, £200 - £250.

Good luck!

Tilly xxx