I'm 22, have no immdiate family, need Will advice?

Glacier

I inherited a house and a trust fund when my parents died. I have no immediate family, no siblings or spouse. I want to divide my estate between my relatives but I understand there are tax difficulties in my situation. I have already spoken to my solicitor about making a Will but as I am still 22, was not not able to fully understand all the technicalities. I want to make an informed descision so that I fully understand my options. Are there any Irish solicitors who offer advice online? Has anyone ever used them and who are the best to go to? Any help appreciated.
Thank You

johnnyskeleton

If you live in a small town or are prepared to pay over the odds for this, I'm sure you can get a solicitor to call out to you.

I'm not sure that you will get legal advice of this nature entirely over the internet. You need to trust that your solicitor has drawn up a valid will, and indeed your solicitor needs to trust that you are who you say you are. Also, a lot of solicitors will store the wills for their clients - this usually ensures that it is kept safe, and it reduces the risk of forged wills. I don't see how they could store a will created over the internet, and I don't think that an "e-will" so-to-speak would be the safest.

Without making any recommendations, and bearing in mind what I have said above, here is something that comes from a search of google - http://www.firstlegal.ie/wills_probate/steps.asp. Most likely what they will offer is that you fill in the form and they will then contact you for a face to face discussion. However, I must stress that I don't think this can ever replace going to a solicitor whom you know and trust.

Glacier

I'm not looking to create a will over the internet, I have a solicitor I completely trust, he did my father's will, it's just I have been to the solicitors a few times, I don't like asking the same questions over again, as I mentioned am still fairly young & would like to have a better understanding of what options I have. Would solicitors online be of any use?
Thank You

johnnyskeleton

Would solicitors online be of any use?

It's the same I suppose with any other solicitor - it very much depends on who it is and whether you trust them.

If you just want a general idea of what is involved you can get information on the internet, but you can't be guaranteed accurate information. You might get a better quality of answer on sites that you know and trust, or such public service sites like www.citizensinformation.ie, but they are intended to inform you generally rather than give specific legal advice.

A solicitor's job is to answer your legal questions and look after your interests/affairs. If they want to charge you €200 per hour to ask them these questions, and you are prepared to pay that, then that's as good or better than what you would get from an online solicitor. You might even make an arrangement that they can bill you per email/phonecall etc.

cork_ie

Glacier wrote:

I inherited a house and a trust fund when my parents died. I have no immediate family, no siblings or spouse. I want to divide my estate between my relatives but I understand there are tax difficulties in my situation. I have already spoken to my solicitor about making a Will but as I am still 22, was not not able to fully understand all the technicalities. I want to make an informed descision so that I fully understand my options. Are there any Irish solicitors who offer advice online? Has anyone ever used them and who are the best to go to? Any help appreciated.
Thank You

Hi
I am not a solicitor but have a fair bit of experience in this area. Please note where the word will refers to the document it is in bold type
The position is as follows.
You will have no tax liability arising from your will neither will your estate when you die.The tax arising will be dependent on who inherits from you and what relationship they are to you. Transfers between spouses are tax exempt . All other recipients are liable to tax. They will pay a tax known as Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) currently 20%.
There is a tax free exemption for each recipient depending how closely they are related to you. The current exemptions are :
To a son or Daughter :€496,824
To Parent*/Brother/Sister/ Niece/Nephew/Grandchild €49,682
To anyone else €24,841

This exemption basically only applies once in the recipients lifetime (within the last 20 years anyway) and if they have already made use of their full exemption in the same category then they can't avail of it a second time. There are also other reliefs where the transfer consists of a business or agricultural land.
I assume you are single and childless.So in your case it appears that it makes little difference who you leave your assets to. The most tax efficient method would be to disperse it widely so that no recipient receives more than their exemption limit.
If you make a will now and get married later your will will automatically become null and void. If you make a new will you will be obliged to leave half of your estate to your wife and provide for your children. I am not exactly of the percentages but it is all set down in the succession act 1965.
Hope this is of help to you

walrusgumble

Glacier wrote:

I'm not looking to create a will over the internet, I have a solicitor I completely trust, he did my father's will, it's just I have been to the solicitors a few times, I don't like asking the same questions over again, as I mentioned am still fairly young & would like to have a better understanding of what options I have. Would solicitors online be of any use?
Thank You

a good solicitor would only be happy to explain these things to you again and in a manner that would help you understand. he or she should realise that you are only young and not many 22 year olds are in a position like yourself to have to consider making a will. just remember a good solicitor should ensure that his clients are happy with the service they provide, after all you may need to go back to him in a few years time to alter the will if your financial affairs change or you get married and wish to change your will in order to benfit your immediate family. after all it is you that is paying for his service.

it might be worth your while (maybe) to find a library which contain law books on wills and probate. are you in college? does that colege do law, can you get access to a college library via friend, or is your local have those books in stock? if so there are a few books that are very good, albert keating is one person who has brought out some very good books on wills. a booklet called "probate in a nutshell" might help you understand some of the techincial words. alternativley civil information (oasis.ie i think) might help.

Victor

I'm not sure, but would your estate be subject to probate? 3% I think.

Glacier wrote:

it's just I have been to the solicitors a few times, I don't like asking the same questions over again,

What questions?

would like to have a better understanding of what options I have.

Not making a will risks the situation ending up before a court should you die, so not making a will isn't much of an option.

Given that you would appear to have no responsibilities (spouse, children), you can give your assets to anyone you want. That is your choice.

As I see it, you can give it all to relatives, all to charity or other cause or somewhere in between. How it is divided is up to you. You can give some people big shares and others small shares.

I'm sure you can include clauses that if person X has a child, that the child also gets a share.

I'm sure you can give your book collection to your best mate and your PC to your nephew.