Inheritance squabbles.

[SueEllen]

Got no kids. Can't stand any of our remaining close relatives. Don't intend to leave much behind anyway. We'll downsize, or do equity release, at some point so there's not much left in the property.

Our mirror Wills leave everything to a pet charity to take care of our pets.

After the first one of you dies the other one who inherits everything can modify their own will to disinherit the pet charity. This can either be directly e.g. you decide to leave everything to the teen who talks to you daily out of the kindness of their heart, or indirectly e.g. you get married.

I'm just thankful my eldest siblings are fair minded. So fair they have been trusted with dealing with other people' estates/trusts.

[ladymuck]

Not "really" relevant to the OP but this information may be of assistance to at least one of you out there...

If one of your parents dies before the other and leaves *everything* to the surviving parent then on the death of the second parent both allowances of £325k can be claimed against Inheritance Tax. Thus no inheritance tax is due on the first £650k of the estate.

Hope that helps someone.

Yes, you have to apply to HMRC within two years of parent #2 dying to transfer the unused allowance over.

[ladymuck]

After the first one of you dies the other one who inherits everything can modify their own will to disinherit the pet charity. This can either be directly e.g. you decide to leave everything to the teen who talks to you daily out of the kindness of their heart, or indirectly e.g. you get married.

I'm just thankful my eldest siblings are fair minded. So fair they have been trusted with dealing with other people' estates/trusts.

TBH if I had a partner and mirror wills in place, I wouldn't care. I'd be dead.

The point of mirror wills is to protect the surviving partner and then when there's one left standing, they are well within their rights to make changes based on how their life goes afterwards.

[DealorNoDeal]

TBH if I had a partner and mirror wills in place, I wouldn't care. I'd be dead.

This.

[TheDude]

I think we modified the will as her executors to ensure we were not giving him our money but (for inheritance tax reasons), this is legal but you are of course under absolutely no obligation to do so.

This is the entire source of my outrage. My aunt made it clear that her daughter should get 100% of her state but that my father's will should be amended to sort out others.

[d000hg]

The point of mirror wills is to protect the surviving partner and then when there's one left standing, they are well within their rights to make changes based on how their life goes afterwards.

Not really. Imagine the two of you are in a car crash. You are killed instantly and your partner dies in hospital later without regaining consciousness. Without a specific will in place, the entire estate goes to her 'successors'. If you for instance had a child from another marriage, they get nothing.

You might not care but your partner may well do if the situations were reversed.

[Gibbon]

Not really. Imagine the two of you are in a car crash. You are killed instantly and your partner dies in hospital later without regaining consciousness. Without a specific will in place, the entire estate goes to her 'successors'. If you for instance had a child from another marriage, they get nothing.

You might not care but your partner may well do if the situations were reversed.

Mirror Wills tend to cover this with provision made on single or joint death and also on the last survivors death, so it can be the only Will needed. Of course there is nothing to stop the single survivor from changing the Mirrored Will, so it is an act of trust. They are more common in second marriages for the complications you describe.

[SueEllen]

Mirror Wills tend to cover this with provision made on single or joint death and also on the last survivors death, so it can be the only Will needed. Of course there is nothing to stop the single survivor from changing the Mirrored Will, so it is an act of trust. They are more common in second marriages for the complications you describe.

I know a few people now who due to having children from a first marriage have put their house in trust. So that means when the first spouse dies the other can still live in the house until their death, then the successors get their money. Unfortunately some aren't set up properly so there are issues over which party is responsible for maintenance and repairs...

[Protagoras]

Mirror Wills tend to cover this with provision made on single or joint death and also on the last survivors death, so it can be the only Will needed. Of course there is nothing to stop the single survivor from changing the Mirrored Will, so it is an act of trust. They are more common in second marriages for the complications you describe.

Just to comment that there are legal rights under Scottish law in favour of the children of a deceased person that allow claims on an estate, which somewhat offset the risk of the survivor's Will being changed. However, this doesn't cover houses, only 'movable estate', so isn't really a substitute for a properly constructed Trust arrangement.

[pr1]

This is the entire source of my outrage. My aunt made it clear that her daughter should get 100% of her state but that my father's will should be amended to sort out others.

Your father may have said/implied/suggested/joked at some point that he would leave her some of his estate
Your aunt may want to leave 100% of her estate to her daughter

These are not mutually exclusive

From a quick look at your other threads and the fact you're posting on this site you're probably not below the poverty line so this is coming down to a matter of principle to you rather than needing the inheritance/money - perhaps your aunt is not as financially secure as you or, as the anecdotes are suggesting, perhaps she is just money grabbing - either way it is does not seem implausible based on the other things you've stated that your father might have said something to her