slummymummy

So... just one more thing to worry about. Today I'm in the mood to deal with what would happen if we both died. I recently turned 40 and hubby surprised me with a flight in a small Cessna plane! This caused me to think about our mortality. I didn't die in the plane (obviously) but it could happen in a car crash or anything...

We have 2 small girls. Our will is with a solicitor in England, in the will it states that we want them to live with my sister in Sweden if we both die. She knows this and I have told her the name and number for the solicitor. We also have life insurance in the UK. Most of our assets are in the UK, in shares.

The only thing I haven't sorted out is that if we both die I want my sister to have access to a big chunk of the money so that they can buy a bigger house and to pay to ship all the kids stuff to Sweden, buy them winter clothes, etc. I will contact the life insurance co to do this.

My question is, would there be any problems to do with the 3 different countries involved? The children live in the US. The will, assets and life ins are in the UK. And we want them to live in Sweden and the money is going to Sweden. Also, would there be a problem for someone from my family to pick them up in the US and take them to Sweden. Ie should we sign something to allow them to do this, or would the will and our death certificates be enough?



You guys must think I'm crazy, it's not that I think we are going to die, but just in case I don't want things to be messy for my kids and my family!

Thanks as always.

JAJ

You can't "leave" children to someone else in your will. In the absence of parents, decisions on their welfare would be a subject of state law. The extent to which they would take into account your expressed wishes is also a matter of state law.

For property in the U.S., as long as your state would accept an English will for probate, there is no particular difficulty. Is your estate at a level which could attract any state, federal (or U.K.) Inheritance Tax?

slummymummy

I clearly have some more googling to do here.........

As for tax, yes maybe. Didn't think of that either.

sir_eccles

Google "guardianship"

ian-mstm

While it's not something we like to think about, it's the responsible thing for parents to do. Kudos to you!

Ian

slummymummy

Ok will do. I don't have time to look into this right now but will come back if I have any questions.

Thank you Ian. I'm glad you (and others) don't think I'm a paranoid nut. My husband is partly with me on this but he's not worried about details. I am.

jeffreyhy

I think your googling should be directed towards finding an appropriate attorney to guide you on this. With three countries involved there are bound to be complications.

Regards, JEff

slummymummy

Mmm... We know a family lawyer and might ask her about what she thinks would happen to the kids.

I've realized that this is a bit more complicated than I first thought. What for example if I make my sister the beneficiary of my life insurance, after my husband. We both die and my sister does not get custody of the kids. Out of spite or hope that she will, she refuses to give any money away. And even if she agreed to give money to someone else, there would be tax consequences.

I think I need a top international family and estate lawyer! That would probably cost more than what the whole estate is worth...

JAJ

Your first priority should probably be to discuss with a Florida attorney if that is where you are living. And be prepared to pay for advice in writing.

I'm not sure what value an international attorney would add at this stage, even if you could find one and afford the fees.

slummymummy

I was half joking, but an "international" attorney might be good as we are dealing with 3 countries here.

To be honest I think the biggest problem is not the money but who would get custody of the kids. I need to find out what I can do about that. But it's ok, I will do some research by myself. It's not top urgent but it will bug me until I know more. Not planning on dying though, it would be totally awful for the kids either way. Losing a parent when you're still young, or losing a child, must be some of the hardest things in life.

lf1

Our situation was very different from yours, but when we decided to rewrite our Wills, a few years ago, we decided to appoint a Trustee as the Executor on both Wills. We met with the Trust Co. and they were very helpful in outlining what should be contained in the Wills, prior to meeting with a lawyer.

Our Wills were very straight forward, except with respect to the care and needs of a family member. In the event that we both died at the same time, we wanted this person to be cared for, but did not want the money going into the hands of certain people. The trustee was very helpful in this area and guided us in the right direction to protect those involved.

The trustee did not charge us for this advice (they get their cut from the Estate). In your case I would definitely get professional advice. Just thought I would mention the Trustee option as they deal,with this stuff all the time and may be helpful if you need to use or are considering using a Trustee.

slummymummy

That's very helpful, I will look into that! Thank you.