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I absolutely agree on wills being drawn up in percentages, they are all done like that here, including mine.
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Years ago, OH and his sister inherited money from an English cousin of his deceased father. She had left her money in parts to each of 18 cousins, and then to their children if the cousin was dead. OH and his sister got about 3 different amounts over a period of about 3 years as more and more of the will was settled!
We drew up a new will in January ............ everything is done as percentages, with instructions that any property we still own is to be sold and the proceeds added to the estate.
If we had wanted to set up a trust fund for anyone with a specific amount, the advice was to set it up now, while we are still alive and have that amount of money.
It is simple progression from OH to me (or vice versa), but then it states that money is left in percentages to daughter, her son in trust, nieces and nephew, and to several charities. The lawyer was very very careful in checking whether we thought our daughter would fight the will as she is not getting it all, although she and her son are getting about 65%. We will both be dead by the time that happens, and the survivor might well have written a new will ....... so c'est la vie.
The original of the will is kept at the lawyer's office, by law, and we have a copy. No valuables are stated as such ............ but there is a statement that daughter is allowed to have all property if she desires, and that nieces and nephew are to be allowed to take any jewellry or art work that daughter does not want. We have some heirlooms from either side of the family, and it only seemed right to allow them to take those rather than sell them off.
We will (we hope!!) produce an attachment that can be added to our file in the lawyer's office as well as kept with our copy here, that identifies art work, jewellry, etc and which came from which side, and which we bought ourselves ............. so that daughter and the others can see it easily
We are seeing a bit of a problem at the moment with the will of our very close friend who died in January ............... she apparently stated in her will that certain pieces of jewellry were to go to her nieces (not sure about the nephews), or they were allowed to choose from her pieces. She has no children, but there are 3 nieces and 2 nephews.
One niece came up in May to go through her jewellry and identify the pieces that she and her siblings wanted. She THOUGHT she would be able to stay in the condo by herself :-D
Instead she had go in only when the Executor could be present .......... apparently one of J's own rings (wedding or engagement) was wanted by the elder sibling, but it wasn't in the condo.
About 3 weeks ago, the niece discovered that J had been wearing her rings in the Palliative Care (I saw them on her), because she never took them off, and was told that J had given them to the friend who had been there for J all through the last 8 or weeks .................. well within J's right to do so.
But there is a lot of anger there now, and also some anger against Aunt J because J re-wrote her will in December while in Palliative Care (but completely compos mentis) to omit one of the nephews who has spent much of his time in jail ....... his parents have also disinherited him. But the niece I met seemed to think J was very wrong to do it.
It was J's right to do what she wanted!!
I just hope that there are not going to be legal battles when it all gets to the probate stage. Thank heavens we're not involved! Our grandson was left something (J was very close to our daughter), but I don't think there is any upset about that!!
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Its amazing the amount of upset, that wills can cause, BUT people often , I believe, write them on spur, so to speak.
Without going into too much detail, at moment, someone wrote a will, some years ago, after partner died left majority of money to 2, charities, left hardly anything to children, only one actually, minimal amount.
As the one, who had been left nothing, had already died, it was said that the family wanted to contest, but were seriously advised not to, it would cost.
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My limited experience of wills has shown me that they bring out the worst in some people. I refer to my brother and sister in law, both of who were living comfortable lives in Oz and Switzerland. They hadn't been near their parents in a couple of decades. while my wife had been caring for them or shopping for them most days. as well as working.
On learning of the death of my FIL they quickly arrived at his house. They put MIL in a care home and sold her house so that she could not return to it. MIL had rheumatoid arthritis as well as being elderly. Two years later she died. My wife and I were there.
In her will my wife was the SOLE BENEFICIARY of her estate. This didn't go down well with in laws who made the years since less than pleasant for my wife. They even challenged the judgement of my MIL and BIL blocked it for a while delaying her funeral, A large element of resentment to put it politely. :-|
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