[Closed] If you died.....

Only talking to my wife about this yesterday. Same as you, just document account details and passwords etc.

Estate? Lol.

Had this chat with my advisor fella the other day actually. I have a son, who is my next of kin, so he'd get everything. And apparently could start doing what he wants with it.... I was advised to do a will. (And leave it all to my son 🙂 )

FiL has a Death File. But he hasn’t told us where it is........

Estate? Lol.

Yes, that's what it's called, I don't have a country house or an 'adviser fella'.

I have a son, who is my next of kin, so he'd get everything

And I'm not talking about who gets what, I'm getting all the details in one place so it's easier for whoever deals with it.

I’ve said that my extensive collection of vintage Razzle are distributed around the forum regulars

Who gets my bikes will be decided by gladiatorial combat amongst the same

And that’s the lot

Sorted! 😀

Mine is just a note saying [i]"Clear my browser history and don't judge me"[/i]

Make a will; intestacy is best avoided and can be be both protracted and costly.

Cross-reference your will to your 'death file' and vice versa.

My estate goes to my brother, he could do with a second car since he uses his work van for everything.

LOL, etc.

Otherwise- I have some informal notes, everything goes to my parents to do with what they will, they've a proven track record of reliability with this stuff from when my grandparents passed away. I've left a couple of specifics too. I don't own a house so it's fairly simple.

As long as my dad hasn't died first anyway, as he's a former IFA and knows all the significant stuff already. Actually, if he dies [i]I[/i] might be in trouble 😆

Now what has everyone done about their pornography collection and more embarassingly their bicycles?

Its not about a will and who gets what, that isn't my point.

[i]I'm getting all the details in one place so it's easier for whoever deals with it.[/i]

Oh, I see... yes, my Aunt, who was quite well off, had a bank service which did this for her. My details (pensions, savings etc) are all with the financial advisor, so I guess they'd sort it. There'd just be the house aside from that.

maybe you should write a will?

Had a talk with the OH about it, the house (and life insurance) is setup to go straight to the survivor, we both deal with our own finances for stuff like cars so that's not an issue (beyond having to write to the DVLA).

I've told her to just give my bikes to close friends if they want them on the proviso* they sort through the boxes of old tat and donate anything useable but of negligible value to charity and the good stuff to the local cycling club (which ebay's ex-members kit to pay youth's race entries). The MG goes back to my dad. Other than that there's just the household stuff.

The only thing we'd probably struggle with is untangling pensions (I only have 1 of any value) and the odd investment (I think she has some premium bonds). Thankfully she's far more organised and has folders of this sort of stuff so it's not my problem 😆

*whilst they fight past my still warm body to get to the good stuff

Now what has everyone done about their pornography collection and more embarassingly their bicycles?

I've told her to burn my phone/laptop just in case I die too quickly to erase my history

often thought about this never get around to doing anything about it, let alone a will.

Mine is just a note saying "Clear my browser history and don't judge me"

All easily accessible as long as she chops my thumb off so it can be scanned.

maybe you should write a will?

Do you put house insurance renewal dates in a will?

I have a will and I've told three people where my copy is kept and even if they didn't know it wouldn't take them long to find it. Along with the will is a list of bank details. I've not specifically listed the utility providers but I don't think that will be too much of a problem. There's not really anything else.

My wife thinks I'm being morbid, I think I'm being sensible.

You are being sensible. If you were to die then the person left to deal with everything is often the closest to you and likely the one suffering the most from losing you. Anything you can do to make this time a little easier for them is a great kindness.

Add social media accounts - FB et al. won't delete the account unless they have the password.

Your bank accounts (not shared ones) get frozen/locked on your death and only released once probate is granted - well that's what happened with my dad which is the last one I had to deal with. I'm not sure what happens with direct debits and standing orders in that case, if you are paying the rent/council tax/car finance then unless you've a joint account those could be stopped as well.

I'm not sure what happens with direct debits and standing orders in that case

As far as I remember the banks bereavement service deal with all that.

Makes sense. It was over twenty years ago that my dad died so not the sort of thing that you are thinking about at the time and not something you deliberately think: "I must remember ..."

My grandfather was old school and dealt with all the bills - pretty much gave my grandmother housekeeping.

When he died there was a set of folders in the study - each detailing bills, insurance, pensions, bank accounts and his stocks & shares. No one knew these existed.

It made it much easier for my Dad to help my Grandmother get things transferred to her name, and sell the shares that she didn't want to be dealing with.

I have a box with a load of paperwork in - although i'm not very good at clearing it out. Last clearout found 15 year old payslips from my college summer jobs! although i have a plan for a better system!

Sweamrs and I are in the process of simplifying our accounts for this very reason. Getting married early 30's means we both have savings accounts / credit cards spread across several banks etc and it's a real mess. Whilst the returns may be marginally lower having everything in one place will make it easier for both tax and if the unfortunate happens.

We use lastpass for saving accounts and passwords (not just online ones, you can have secure notes for offline stuff) - anything joint/shared like utilities, car insurance, mortgage, netflix, etc goes in a folder that we both have access to.

Then wife and I have set each other for lastpass "emergency access" along with the people in our wills. Should it be needed, they can request access. You get notified and there's a waiting period but after that they get access to it all.

I try to stay in the habit of scanning paper documents (and then shred unless I absolutely need to keep it), so hopefully easy for someone to find.

Interesting subject.... we've just started a project scanning approx 100,000 Wills for safekeeping and simplified access for a rather large law firm.

Reminds me that I really should get one done!

the house (and life insurance) is setup to go straight to the survivor,

If you do have life assurance make sure it is held in trust. It will fall outside your estate and thus not be liable for death duty. More importantly, it will be payed within a week or two as you won't have to wait for Probate to be granted, which even on a simple estate could be months.

I occasionally wonder about this - not so much because of personal stuff, but because of the business. So much to keep track of there, it'd be a real hassle for anyone else to untangle it if I wasn't there.

Not sure what the solution is, apart from what I already do - have a simple system to keep track of all orders, bills etc.

is this a stealth "whose the richest thread"??????????

Wife will need to get a locksmith to crack the safe, as everything is in there.....

is this a stealth "whose the richest thread"??????????

No, why?

My mum knows where I keep my bike and car keys... so thats all sorted.

Oh, I see... yes, my Aunt, who was quite well off, had a bank service which did this for her. My details (pensions, savings etc) are all with the financial advisor, so I guess they'd sort it. There'd just be the house aside from that.

FIL has a file he reminds us about every time they go on holiday (about 4-5 times a year). It would actually make more sense not to keep the file in his own house since if it burns down it also has all the information he would need!

We don't have one because if we did Mrs Poly might find it easier to bump me off!

I'm not sharing all that stuff with my wife, I suspect that's the only reason she keeps me around 😉

If you die.....

Erm, what are the odds on this happening at some point, is it something I really need to plan for or is it most likely I'll never need to worry about it?

Yes and no. I have a will and wife is named beneficiary on eveything but keep meaning to do an updated / central list of everything (investments, policies, pensions etc).

We've got a central list of passwords etc with important documents held in a secure folder - not only for this kind of situation but also for the random panics mrs madhouse has about whether or not the house is insured etc.

I don't like filing so paperless actually does me a favour and makes everything way more accessible.

I have been away working for a few days and came back to find a letter from a solicitor at home. My godmother died 2 years ago and her estate has just been settled, because her money was mostly tied up in a property she had rented out they had to wait till the sale went through and lots of other legal ramblings. I don't think any of the beneficiaries would be massively skint and in need of her generosity but if somebody was thats a long time to wait.

Made me think about starting to arrange stuff.

I'm in the same boat as the OP, my wife would struggle to know what policies are with who.

Truth be told I don't like discussing this with her. She gets a glint in her eye when she realises how well off she'd be if I pegged it and all policies paid out...

If you do have life assurance make sure it is held in trust. It will fall outside your estate and thus not be liable for death duty. More importantly, it will be payed within a week or two as you won't have to wait for Probate to be granted, which even on a simple estate could be months.

[edit] turns out I was wrong, but it makes no difference, split 50/50 neither of our assets would be above the nil-band.

On a related note, the payout would incur death duty on the amount over the threshold, but does it assume that 100% of it went to the dead person and then immediately inherited (and being taxed), or does it assume it's split 50/50 if it's a joint policy (and only half of it gets taxed)?

Topical subject this...

Recent upheavals in the Bouy household mean two wills being sorted as I type..
As for me, I’ve always had one. From the day I bought my first house to the current incarnation, pretty religious about keeping it updated.. and considering the current frayed tempers I’m pretty glad my affairs are at the very least up to date.

Nothing worse than squabbling siblings staring each other down over supper 🙄

Distribution of assets is relatively clean in my cash due to very standard family kids arrangements

Sorting out accounts, policies, finance, etc would be a massive ball ache so I have a secure spreadsheet on dropbox with everything on it such as account or reference numbers, passwords etc. Wife and my dad both know about it and I also have access to my Dads version of the same.

Nothing worse than squabbling siblings staring each other down over supper

every meal time in my house...

Ya but this lot age range between 44-53 😆

Odd that in both scenarios one very elderly relative is executor of both wills ..
And seems to have formed their own opinions as to how the wills should be shared, despite strict instructions 😛

My dad left a file of information and instructions in an obvious place in his filing cabinet. It even included details of songs he wanted playing at his funeral (Pink Floyd - I approved).

Everything's in our Blue Box. Might take some sorting out but It's all in there!

Having just gone through this with my FiL dying suddenly and unexpectedly, I had no idea of the range and scope of things that had to be addressed.  Even things like MiL's car had been bought in his name - ownership has to be formally transferred before she could sell it.  Also insurance documents in his name (house, car etc) are not valid until transferred to her.  There was a lot more to do besides the obvious stuff like banking, credit cards, pensions, shares etc, and all of this required locating the correct documents before working through the processes.  Wife and I both have wills but it made us think about the need to have all papers properly organised and accessible for whoever is going to have to sort it all out one day

Make sure to nominate a trusted friend to retrieve the pron stash within three hours of your demise, if you're old skool about this type of thing. Probably best to leave them a copy of the key to your shed.

I have asked MrsPJM to ensure that she sells my bikes for what they're actually worth...

<span style="color: #444444;"> account details and passwords etc.</span>

Make a list and a will but note that anyone using passwords to access the bank accounts of a dead person is certainly breaching T&Cs and probably committing a criminal offence.

Having the prospect of winding up several relatives' estates in the coming years this is something I'm not looking forward to, though mostly I expect there will be postal evidence (eg bank letters continuing to arrive which will give a basis for following up). Even my mostly internet-based stuff still generates a bit of a paper trail, I most recently got a letter about my vehicle insurance renewal for example. Mostly it's the volume of stuff (inc several house clearances and sales) that I'm dreading.

As I do this for a job I can safely say that the more obvious it is what you own and where it is then the less your family will pay in terms of cash, stress and time wasted to sort it out.

A valid Will is always better than an intestacy, so make a Will.

We advise everyone to do a what I have and where it is form - have a copy of ours for free -

OH and talk to your family so they all know and understand what you want to happen when you die. Funeral plans etc.

Yes. Up to date will. Brother and sister won't squabble over wills as we have sadly proved several times in past couple of years.

Regarding the Cars section on your form NJA it might be worth adding finance details too. I know this could be covered under loans but would make sense to add PCP details for example.

I didn't bother adding loan balance or any values that may change as the document would need updated every month.