Where There’s a Will There’s a Way…

Writing a will allows you to have control over what happens to your property, money and belongings after you die. But what should you put in a will and how does the process work?

Some of the Benefits

Here’s some reasons why making a will is a great idea:

Control your estate. The main concern for most people when writing a will is to make sure their money is dished out as they want. A well written will allows for this.
Reduce stress for your next of kin. After the death of a loved one, bureaucracy and admin can be a nightmare. It can be overwhelming. Writing a will helps alleviate that problem.
Avoid arguments. Your family and other beneficiaries will have your wishes clearly laid out, leaving less room for disputes over who should get what.
Make provision for your children. If you have children under 18, you can specify who you’d like to become their guardian, rather than entrusting the decision to the courtroom.
Make your funeral requests clear. A will is also where you can set out the kind of funeral you’d like including whether you’d prefer to be buried or cremated and your choice of music.

Avoid intestate rules. If you die without making a will, your estate will be divided according to set rules rather than your intentions.
Potentially reduce Inheritance Tax. It might be possible to reduce the tax your estate pays through your will.
Give to organisations. It’s not just people who can benefit from your will. Organisations and causes close to your heart can do too.
Protect your digital assets. Increasingly, our treasured possessions are accessed digitally, from photographs to password-protected documents.
Care for your pets. Your will can include provisions for any pets you have, such as who should look after them.

That’s a pretty decent list. Fundamentally, as I said, it’s about making sure what you want to happen… HAPPENS! We’ve all come across the term ‘that’s what they would have wanted’. With a well written will, there’s no need for the ‘would have’.

No Will?

At a high level, if you die without a will you’re said to have died intestate and what you leave becomes subject to intestacy laws. If there are no surviving relatives who can inherit under the rules of intestacy, the estate passes to the Crown. Not good!

The intestacy laws are designed to help decide who’s entitled to your estate. Your estate may not pass to the people you want to benefit. For example, if you were married or had a civil partner, there’s no guarantee your children or grandchildren would receive anything unless you leave an estate worth over £250,000.

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership and your partner dies, they won’t be automatically able to inherit anything. The same applies if your relationship to the deceased was that of a friend, carer or relative by marriage.

If you’re unmarried and you have children, they will inherit the estate under the rules of intestacy. This underlines why it’s important that unmarried couples write a will to protect their financial future.

How to do It

Making a will isn’t something that happens overnight, but here’s 5 steps you could follow when deciding how to distribute your estate.

Get your estate valued. You should calculate your total assets, such as your property, savings and investments, as well as your debts, including any outstanding mortgages, credit card loans and your bank overdraft.
Divide your estate. Once you’ve valued your estate, it’s time to think about who should benefit from it. It’s also an opportunity to figure out contingencies, such as what happens if one of your named beneficiaries dies before you.

Choose your executors. Naming an executor of a will is an important step in ensuring your estate will be dealt with according to your wishes.
Write your will. At this stage, you’re ready to finalise the will in writing. There are various ways you can get a will written, DIY, will-writing specialist, solicitor. My view is that you should get advice!
Sign and store your will. Finally, a valid will must be signed in the presence of two independent witnesses. You will then need to store the will, either at home or safely with the Probate Service, solicitors or bank.

To make your will official as a legal document it should:

Be made in writing.
Clarify it was made voluntarily, when you were of sound mind.
Be made by someone 18 and over.
Signed and dated by you in the presence of two witnesses, who must also sign it in turn in your presence. The witnesses must 18 and over, such as a neighbour, friend or colleague.

It’s worth bearing in mind that your witnesses can’t be beneficiaries of the will, married to a beneficiary or blind.

Talk to Your Loved Ones

It’s never an easy conversation to have but talking to those close to you about your wishes after your death can help prevent any arguments or misunderstandings after the event. It’s also an opportunity to find out what treasured possessions they value and might like to receive.

Writing a will is part of making your passing a little easier for your loved ones and reducing the stress of sorting out your belongings and your estate.

You’re Not Alone

I know this subject can be a thorny issue for a lot of us. Families aren’t always as harmonious as we would like them to be and this can cause friction before and after death!

I hope this little article has been useful and might make you think a little . It might be that you already have a will in place but you may have thought about revisiting it and. Hopefully, what I’ve written here will help your thinking.

As ever, if you want to talk about the issues I cover in my fascinating blogs, you know you only have to get in touch.

Until next time…