What Does a Will do?

Making a Will ensures that your estate passes to those who you intend to inherit.  But giving gifts to your loved ones is only one function of a will - it can do a lot more.  This short guide will explain a lot of the information that you will need before creating your will, and hopefully make the process a lot easier.

Things to consider before creating a will include:

• Executors – These are the people who will deal with your estate when you pass away. Couples usually appoint each other, but it’s a good idea to appoint at least one other person (in reserve) in case your spouse/partner passes away before you. Your Executors should be a close trusted person, and ideally be someone younger than you, but they must be over 18. They must agree to being your Executor. Your will need their full name and address for your will. If you are having difficulty in appointing an Executor, we can help. Please get in touch.

• Your Estate – Think about what you currently own.  It is easy to forget that you may have an investment or pension that could make a big difference to the size of your estate.  The size of your estate might affect which type of will you choose to create.

• Guardians – If you have children under 18, you may wish to appoint guardians to take care of them if you and their other parent pass away while your children are still young. You should only appoint someone who is over 18 and who agrees to be a guardian.

• The age of children or grandchildren who inherit – Usually a person has to be 18 before they can inherit anything directly. However, you may think that an 18-year-old is not responsible enough to inherit. In your will, you can specify an older age for your loved ones to inherit at, such as 21. Talk to us.

• Gifts – Think about who you wish to leave your property to. You can make specific gifts, such as some money or an item, as well as leaving what is left over (the “residue” of your estate). You can also leave money to a charity. The person or charity who receives your gift is known as a Beneficiary. You will need to confirm each beneficiary’s full name and address for your will.

• Excluding people from your will – Something that may be very important is who is excluded from your will. If you are divorced, your ex-partner is not automatically excluded from inheriting some of your property. If you are separated but not divorced, your ex-partner could still be entitled to inherit from you without a will. Again, you will need the full name of anyone who you wish to exclude from your will, and their relationship to you.

• Inheritance Tax – The Government tax-free threshold for inheritance tax is currently £325,000. This may seem like a lot, but with increasing property prices your estate could easily be worth more than this. We can advise you regarding reducing the inheritance tax bill that your estate may face when we speak to you.

• Non-married partners – If you are living with a long-term partner, but are not married, this is known as Co-habiting. Non-married partnerships are not treated the same way as married partners when it comes to inheritance tax. However, we can advise you regarding a Trust Will to ensure that this inequality does not affect your estate. Please speak to us about this for more information.

• Protecting your property – If you pass away at a relatively young age, your surviving partner may wish to re-marry at a later date. They then may wish to update their will, meaning that any property that they inherited from you could potentially pass into another family. You can prevent this by creating a will containing a Trust – speak to us for more details.

• If your partner dies before you, and you need residential care in later life, without a Trust Will, you may have to sell your home to help towards the cost of your care. We are happy to speak to you about this; please contact us.

Can I make my own Will?

The short answer is, yes. However, as well as ensuring your wishes are made known, we can advise you on how to make the most of the available inheritance tax allowance and can assist you in establishing trusts to manage the deferral of any inheritance of any beneficiaries. DIY will packs are available, but the process is full of pitfalls and errors are easy to make - which could result in your wishes not being carried out.

What if I don’t have a Will?

Your estate (property) will be given away according to the Intestacy Rules when you pass away. These rules may not be in line with your own wishes, so its always better to have a Will for your own piece of mind.

We hope that this guide is useful, but of course it shouldn’t replace speaking to us in person.  Please contact us here if you would like to proceed with creating your Will.  If you have any questions, please see our FAQ page.  If you have a more specific question, please get in touch.