Why make a will?
A Will gives the opportunity to plan clearly who will inherit your estate after your death and ensure your wishes are carried out. What is expressed in a a will is legally binding upon your executors and the court.
It is a time to plan for:
Guardianship of minor children and their age of inheritance.
Protect your spouse and children assets from potential future divorce settlements, creditors, bankruptcy, etc after you are gone.
Donate to charity or friends.
Plan for your grandchildren.
Create a legacy that will last for generations.
And much more.
Wills are not for the rich only. They help ensure a smooth transition of our estate, bring clarity to our wishes and avoid drama at a difficult time for our families.
Who should write a will?
Everyone should write a will whether single, married, in a civil partnership, just living with a partner or in a reconstructed family.
The need and the way to plan differs depending on our circumstances. Without a will:
A spouse or civil partner will only inherit part of our estate without a will.
A partner (not married or in a civil partnership) is not a natural heir by law so will not inherit from us at all without a will.
You cannot give to charity.
You might inadvertently disinherit a child or a stepchild.
You cannot give to siblings, nieces and nephews, friends.
An estrange child or family member may inherit despite our will.
The rule of thumb is that every time we have a major change in our life, a newborn, marriage, children reaching adult age, receiving an inheritance, buying a house, etc. we should write a will or review our existing will to ensure it is fit for purpose.
What if I do not have a Will?
The Administration of Estate Act of 1925, outline the rules of intestacy that defines how an estate is passed on upon death when there is no Will. Under the intestacy rules, everything pass on to the blood relatives: wife, civil partner, children, grand children, siblings, etc.
It does not recognise:
unmarried people living together,
Who will look after your minor children? This would be decided by the court and may not appoint the people you hoped would be their guardians,
gift to charity or non bloodline relatives.
In addition, for married (or civil partner) couples the only the first £322,000 pass to the spouse (civil partner), the rest is divided 50/50 between the spouse (civil partner) and the children. This can be worrying for the surviving partner if for example a property end-up being divided between the spouse (civil partner) and the children, yielding a potential IHT charge to be paid on first death. This could create unwanted stress within the family.
professionally writen Wills.
Getting professional advice is key to understand the key chalenges our estate faces, the important elements to consider and the solutions available to us so we can write a will that clealry lay down our wishes and achieve our goals.
The construction and authentication of a will has specific rules, specific vocabulary that, if not adhere to, may invalidate the will or lead to unwanted consequences.
We are professional will writers, versed at all the subtleties and details that need to go into a well crafted Will.
Part of our commitment to you is to ensure that we give you all the information you require to make an informed decisions, including the life scenarios you should consider and the associated solutions, the inheritance tax your estate will be subject to and how to mitigate some, the pitfalls to avoid, how to chose your executors, ensure you include all your intended beneficiaries in your will, adhere to the currents laws. etc.
Our pricing is transparent and we offer a free initial consultation.