Regularly, we meet clients who have a long list of gifts (for long distant relatives) that they haven’t really given enough thought about.
‘What should I do?’ is the usual ask.
They don’t mean the ten thousand pounds or euros sat in a building society account (do you remember building societies?). They don’t mean their Porche or Jaguar. They mean their little tea pot set; their ‘I went to the end of Southend Pier’ memento.
There are several options.
1. List every single item in your will with who it’s going to and their address and any relationship, and if just a friend. This may extend your will by a few pages and give the executors a nightmare of a job, but if it’s your wish, then go ahead.
2. You can use a list clause; this means that we put a clause in your will that refers to a ‘list’. This is a clause that says that you’ve noted, on a separate piece of paper (or several pages) the items in question; who they’re going to, their addresses and relationships (if any). This means that as you add or break or lose pieces you can just simply update your list. This means you don’t have to update your will, having it signed and witnessed every time you want to make such a small change. You’ll need to sign and date your list.
3. You could put a sticker on the bottom of the pieces of treasure saying who it’s going to and then let your executors know what’s to happen.
While the latter may not be ‘legally binding’ it is often used. LSUK prefer that you use one of the first two methods so the law is behind you and acts for you. I believe the record is for 148 separate items added to the will in different legacies. You may know more?
One of the most frequent comments made by distant (and sometime much closer) relatives after the deceased has been buried or cremated, often occurs back at the funeral gathering, often at the deceased’s home, is – ‘she said she was going to leave me her milk jug, it’s worth quite a lot you know’. What that means is it’s probably Royal Doulton at £10 a time rather than a Tesco’s special at 85p.
It’s not the value that counts in financial terms, but what it means to the people involved. It’s nice to be able to look at, to have and to hold a treasured memory of the person long gone.
I have a small vase for that very purpose; it’s a treasure to me. It reminds me not just of the past, but of the person. It’ll never reach eBay.
Filed under: Legal Advice
Great post. Hit it on the button. All your little items and treasures, probably cupboards full of them, stuff like that is hard to organize in official wills etc.
Theres another more modern option that you need to consider: save it on an online repository at a site like http://www.senterna.com
What I’d do is just record a video and post it up on that site and just vocally rattle off the list of items you want to leave behind and why. Then the right people will know what they get and importantly - why they are getting it. Much quicker, and they will probably appreciate the gifts much much more.
If you do that, the video or text will be released when you go, and then everyone will know your wishes. You can even lift up and show them the item as you record it just so theres no confusion.
Senteran looks likea good idea, but I’m not sure many 75 year olds will tackle this task, however good the idea. They would have to ask their grandchildren to complete it.