Making a Will

The most important document you may ever write is your last will and testament, yet two thirds of the adult population does not have one. Some think that writing a will should be left to the dying, not considering untimely deaths on the road or from other accidental causes.

A point to remember is that the law surrounding intestacy (dying without a will) has little to do with common sense and justice. With an increasing number of people cohabiting without legal marriage, it makes sense to assure that your partner will benefit from your estate. The more clearly you state your wishes in a will the more likely it is that on your demise those whom you wish to benefit, will, and it will ease the strain on those you leave behind at a stressful time.

Some people advocate writing a will without assistance of a solicitor and a form can be obtained from the Post Office, stationery office or reputable stationers. It is now possible to obtain a computer programme that will assist you in writing your own will. Whilst these methods are acceptable for very straight forward wills, it is wise to employ a solicitor where provisions may be complicated, such as provision for a first family after divorce and remarriage.

If you choose to employ a solicitor ring around and ask their charges – the average price for a single will at the time of writing is around £60-70, there may be a reduction on the overall price if partners write reciprocal wills leaving everything to each other.

Who will see that my will is carried out?

An executor is a person (or people) whom you nominate to prove the will and carry out your express wishes. This may be your spouse, partner, child (past majority) or other relative or a trusted friend. You may also nominate a bank or solicitor for this role but they will charge for the service. An executor may also be a beneficiary under the will but one who signs their name as witness to the will cannot be a beneficiary.

What should I include in my will?

If you have children under the age of 18 the most important instruction is who will act as guardian to them, especially if you do not have a partner. Ask those who you may consider, if they are willing to take on the responsibility before appointing them in your will.

Make a list of your valuables, the car, the jewellery, the furniture and other possessions both of real and sentimental value. Remember any bank accounts, life assurance and life policies, trusts and stocks and shares.

Make a list of the people for whom you need to make provision – not forgetting the future needs of your animals for whom you should provide.

Consider if you wish to leave anything to a charity or other organisation. Charities welcome legacies and many offer a will writing service with this in mind.

Allocate specific items to those who you wish to receive them, they may be of real or sentimental value.

Allocate specific bequests

Consider complications where there are children of a former partnership. You may wish to leave the majority of your estate to your current partner or give them life interest on the capital with the capital being left totally, or in part, to those children on the subsequent death of your partner.

Consider where you wish to bestow bequests if the person appointed to receive the original bequest has died.

Within your will you may leave directions on how your funeral should be conducted, (cremation, burial and the place and manner of such), also you may state which funeral directors should be used and who should conduct the ceremony. You may have purchased a funeral plan whilst living and this should be shown within the will. It is important to note that V.A.T. and any future retail or funeral tax associated with a prepaid plan will need to come from your estate.

You may also leave direction of how your physical care is undertaken when you are no longer able to direct this yourself eg life support system. This is called an advance directive or “living will”. Since 1994 this has some legal standing and is considered binding by the medical profession. It may give your loved ones a guide to your wishes in a similar way that one carries a donor card.

It may be useful to place your will, insurance policies etc. funeral plan, advance directive and any other relevant document into an emergency folder which can be easily found by relatives or another in the event that you die unexpectedly away from family.

Your will needs to be updated when there are any changes in your circumstances, such as if you divorce, remarry, move house or have children. It is advisable to take a look at your will every five years to see if you still feel that it is appropriate.

Do not rush into making a will or be pressured into making bequests by another, weigh up all the options first, write an outline, sleep on it, reread it, make amendments if needed and then prepare it or appoint another to prepare it for you

It is our only recommendation that you make a will, the manner, style and choice of who prepares it for you is for you alone to decide.

Frequently used Legal Terms

Administrator

: these are the people who sort out things not covered by your will.

Beneficiary:

A person who receives something from your estate.

Bequest:

A sum of money or specific item left to a beneficiary.

Chattels and moveables:

Personal possessions, car, tools, furniture etc but not house and land.

Codicil:

An addition to an existing will (note that if there is a LEGAL flaw in the original this will not correct it).

Crown:

If you have no relatives and no will, the crown will receive the sum of your estate.

Estate:

Everything you own or have a share in at the time of your death. For tax purposes this can include gifts made in the last seven years of your life.

Executor(s):

The person(s) or organisations(s) that you appoint to administer your will (Note that they can refuse the task even if they agreed in your lifetime).

Executrix:

Female of executor.

Inheritance tax:

Roughly anything over £150,000 is taxed at 40% (at the time of writing). Solicitors are the best folk to advise on how to minimise this if it applies to you.> Intestate: The term that the law uses to describe one who dies without a will or no valid will.

Intestacy

: The state of being intestate.

Legacy:

A specific sum left to a beneficiary.

Probate:

The legal process of validating the will and appointing an administrator if needed.

Residue:

What is left of your estate when all bequests, debts, legal and funeral costs have been deducted.

Residual Bequest:

the gift of the residue of your estate. This is conditional on there being a residue.

Spouse:

The person to whom you are legally married. Whilst long term heterosexual relationships are recognised to an extent, homosexual relationships are not. Marriage usually nullifies previous wills.

Testator:

Yourself if you are making your own will

Testatrix:

Female term of testator.

Trustee:

The name for an executor who is appointed to handle whatever part of your estate that has been left under a continuing Trust. (Do not contemplate setting up any type of Trust without legal advice. Often the only way to change a Trust is to get a court order)

Making a Will