Wills and Trusts

With the commitment of being the carer of someone with a long history of severe mental illness, the need always to be available often deters many carers from facing up to the necessity of making a Will, particularly when the complications are confronted.

However anyone with the smallest amount of property is always advised to put their affairs in order and in no case is this more important than with members of Rethink.

A Will enables carers to state exactly how they wish their estates to be dealt with, in particular:

  • whom the carer wishes to appoint as executors and/or Trustees
  • who is to benefit upon the carer's death
  • what part of the carer's estate is to pass to the mentally ill or handicapped dependant ( “the dependant”) and upon what conditions, bearing in mind the particular problems of those receiving State benefit or in local authority accommodation.

What happens if there is no Will?

If a carer does not make a Will, the estate will pass under the laws of intestacy, which may be very different from what was intended.

Moreover, if the dependant is entitled to a share, this share may come under the control of the Court of Protection. Although this Court is more user-friendly than it used to be, it still involves formality and sometimes considerable cost.