In the event of a problem ...

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 freeflyer 15 Sep 2019

I think we all like to get out and about, and in the context of enjoyment to take a few risks perhaps. So the question arises, what information to provide for when things go wrong, and how to provide it.

Clearly I don't want treasure maps and the location of the preferred mattress under which you hide your rainy day stash, but I am interested in your opinions about what to do, especially whether to go electronic or use reliable others like relatives, executors/beneficiaries, solicitors and the like.

Personally I use LastPass for electronic information, and a solicitor for will and advance decision, but I confess I haven't yet got around to giving the master password to anyone else, checking to see what is actually in there in the way of updated information, or done LPAs. I need to get onto this during the winter.

How are you doing - are you still feeling you're immortal?

 profitofdoom 15 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

> I think we all like to get out and about, and in the context of enjoyment to take a few risks perhaps. So the question arises, what information to provide for when things go wrong, and how to provide it.

My thinking is, speaking personally only, [1] make a will and leave the original will with a solicitor; also make sure that your loved ones have a copy of the will (or know where it is) plus details of the solicitor e.g. address. [2] Leave details of all monies e.g. bank accounts e.g. recent bank statements in a place known to your loved ones. My solicitor doesn't know where I bank but said she'll sort it all out should I die suddenly, for a fee ( obviously she'd need bank statements to do that). [3] Make sure your family know where you keep your credit cards and cash. [4] Update your will if need be

 Stichtplate 15 Sep 2019
In reply to profitofdoom:

So you've made sure your nearest and dearest can profit from your doom?

 profitofdoom 15 Sep 2019
In reply to Stichtplate:

> So you've made sure your nearest and dearest can profit from your doom?

Haha very funny, you've got me in Stichtes No, just thinking about my nearest/ dearest in case I die insensate or whatever the word is*

*Joke

 Timmd 15 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

Being the youngest of three, with my Dad still being around, I text in a family whatsapp group where I'm going. I have an ISA, so I guess I should bequeath the contents of that and my bank account to my 2 nieces and nephew towards being invested into something useful for when they're 18. 

I've recently started to think that cycling in traffic might be less of a calculated risk than many things in the outdoors, like playing battleships with things which can kill me (a cheery thought). 

Post edited at 13:00
 Bob Kemp 15 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

Your post reminded me of this article I came across a few months ago when I was thinking about this:-

https://uk.pcmag.com/gallery/120067/how-to-prepare-your-digital-life-for-yo...

It has some useful ideas and information. Of course I never got round to following up any of the advice in it...

BTW if anyone's searching for info on this 'digital death' is a good search term. 

Post edited at 13:16
 BnB 15 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

Good post. Through the years I had accumulated so many financial instruments that would be a painful administrative headache to an executor. So I’ve been on a purge.

All those individual pensions (7!!) with different providers representing a few months here and there at various employers in the ‘80s have been consolidated into one core pension holding*. And if I die before emptying it the trustees are mandated to make my children the beneficiaries, leaving no work for an executor. Meanwhile all my investments are managed under the same umbrella so any executor can access the data and my estate’s assets simply and quickly.

Everything else I do will be to render the above unnecessary for as long as possible.

* Note to anyone in their 20s. Those small contributions made 30-40 years ago have grown into a sizeable combined sum. Start early!

OP freeflyer 15 Sep 2019
In reply to Bob Kemp:

Thanks for the link: being a cheapskate, I use the free version of LastPass, which has fewer features and relies on you sharing the details and the master password with your nearest and dearest, rather than simply adding them to the account with the premium version. The free version is referenced here: https://uk.pcmag.com/password-managers/39332/the-best-free-password-manager...

OP freeflyer 15 Sep 2019
In reply to BnB:

Seems I'm somewhat less able or possibly lazier than you from a financial perspective, as I've employed an IFA to do this for me, which is costly but also works in the event of a problem.

ff

 BnB 15 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

> Seems I'm somewhat less able or possibly lazier than you from a financial perspective, as I've employed an IFA to do this for me, which is costly but also works in the event of a problem.

As far as the pensions portion is concerned, I had to use an IFA myself, because pension funds will not take instructions directly from a customer unless there is sufficient evidence that an IFA has been consulted. So no different to you.

In reply to freeflyer:

I'm feeling poor and immortal but I just dealt with my mother's estate so have some opinions anyway

I think it depends how complicated your affairs are and who you want to leave your money to.   If you've just got a house, a couple of bank accounts and a few shares and you want to leave them to your husband/wife or kids then it is all pretty simple and IMHO you want to keep lawyers out of it as much as possible because all they will achieve is to take a few percent for themselves and make your family wait longer to get at your cash.  The time for lawyers to manage the estate is when the people inheriting are likely to fight about who gets what.

One thing to watch for is lawyers that put a clause in your will which tries to make them or a company associated with them the executor.   This is so the executors can't  (or think they can't, because the clause might not be enforceable) choose to do it themselves or hire somebody cheaper.   

OP freeflyer 15 Sep 2019
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

Good advice - also consider using a probate broker like Final Duties rather than just going to your High Street solicitor, as you will potentially save loads. If you're reasonably qualified (accountancy / law) you can consider doing it yourself.

Andy 1902 15 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

> Good advice - also consider using a probate broker like Final Duties rather than just going to your High Street solicitor, as you will potentially save loads. If you're reasonably qualified (accountancy / law) you can consider doing it yourself.


Unless the estate and or will is complex then there is no reason a person of average intellect can't sort out probate. No reason to be qualified in accountancy or law, just follow the advice that is widely available.

Edit - if there is a need/wish to reduce tax liabilities that may be a different matter...

 yorkshire_lad2 16 Sep 2019
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

+1 re appointing executors: no need to nominate a solicitor, or a bank (or a charity if you decide to use one of their "let us write your will for free if you make us a donation in your will" offers) unless you really need to or things are complex or may be contested.  Find a  couple of trustworthy friends or relatives who would be willing to do the job: they can always employ a solicitor for anything that is needed and pay the relevant fees.  IANAL, but have recently been exor for 2 estates (mother and one friend).

 yorkshire_lad2 16 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

I have a Will with a local solicitor (sister and friend as exors).  I have a document (updated periodically) which lists lots of information (in a slightly anonymised way of sensitive items in case the document ends up in the wrong hands, but which someone who knows me would be able to work out given the pointers) that an executor will need (banks, subscriptions, utilities, certificates/passport, car, house, IFA, life insurance/pension, domain names, phones and a few other items).  A copy is kept in two safe places that my exors know about or could find.

I don't use LastPass as I don't trust putting all my passwords in one place that is an obvious target to hackers.  I haven't quite worked out how to do deal with passwords to my satisfaction yet.

 sbc23 16 Sep 2019
In reply to freeflyer:

There is a feature in Lastpass where you can designate someone 'Emergency Access'. You do not need to give them your master password. In the event of your demise, they can use their email address to access your account. There is a cooling-off period, which you can set to whatever you want (eg. 24hrs/7days). During this period you are notified and if you are actually still around, you can prevent access. 

You may have to pay for this, but it is cheap. 

For the folks who don't trust Lastpass etc, how do you keep up with unique passwords? (I have 164 currently). Surely the risk of re-using the same password and ANY of the websites being hacked is significantly higher than a password manager designed to control them. 

OP freeflyer 16 Sep 2019
In reply to sbc23, yorkshire_lad2:

I struggle with the trust issue too, and for that reason still try to keep my previous PC-based solution up to date with the password manager. But it's not available on the phone

I guess I have to trust that they won't get hacked, and although I haven't looked into it much, I'm assuming that after authentication there's a local database with all your details in, so loss of service should be less of an issue than the cloud-based storage solutions.

OP freeflyer 16 Sep 2019
In reply to sbc23:

Emergency Access is only available with the premium pay-for service, which costs about £3 pm. As I don't need the other features, I've elected to stay with the free version, YMMV.

Removed User 16 Sep 2019
In reply to Andy 1902:

> Unless the estate and or will is complex then there is no reason a person of average intellect can't sort out probate. No reason to be qualified in accountancy or law, just follow the advice that is widely available.

> Edit - if there is a need/wish to reduce tax liabilities that may be a different matter...


While executory isn't generally complicated the last thing most of us would want to in the weeks after the death of a loved one is sorting out share certificates and chasing down savings and pensions.

I used a solicitor I've know for years and it cost me well under one percent of the value of the estate.


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