Why Have a Will?

If you haven’t got a Will then you are in the majority in England and Wales, as approximately 70% of the population haven’t got a Will. The reasons for this are as varied as the individuals involved and can range from not having enough time and thinking it is too expensive to arrange, or “I have nothing worth leaving” or ideas such as “even if I make a Will it will make no difference as everything will go to my partner in any case”. Sadly the truth of the matter is that none of these reasons are valid.

Making a Will need not be complicated. With ABM Solicitors the cost can be as little as £60 (including VAT at the 17.5% rate). Relying on the Intestacy Rules to ensure that your wishes are carried out is sadly rather naïve and may often result in exactly the opposite of what you wanted. Hopefully what is set out below will help change your mind and persuade you that having a Will and sorting out your estate is sensible. Also it is worth remembering that once a Will is made it can be changed at any time before your death either by adding a short Codicil to update information or even re-drafting in order to take into account changes in your situation, such as additions to your family and tax considerations. Indeed we would recommend that you consider and update your Will every two years.

It is sensible to have a Will in place to ensure that those that are close to you and important in your life are taken care of after your death. This is generally a very quick and simple process and offers you complete peace of mind knowing that all your affairs are in order.

If you cohabit with your partner, but you are not married or in a civil partnership, it may be very important that you have a Will in place if you wish to provide for your partner after your death. At the moment the Law does not recognise your partner as having the same legal rights as a married spouse or a civil partner. It might be that they would be left with nothing.

It is also important to have a Will in place if you have children or other dependents. It allows you the opportunity to direct who might take care of them and to put in place provision for their future and create financial certainty.

As to tax and the Inland Revenue, most people feel that firstly this won’t affect them as it is only the very rich that this touches. However, failure by Government to significantly raise the inheritance tax threshold and the growth in value of property and other assets might mean that many more people who have effectively quite modest means find themselves being caught out to a significant extent by tax. Often policies can be written into trust to avoid tax and your home, if jointly owned with your partner, will transfer by operation of the law and outside your estate and consequently will not attract tax. However there are many other scenarios that need to be considered, especially situations where there might sadly be family deaths in quick succession which can leave children facing a hefty tax bill rather than the inheritance that their parents had expected. Careful consideration of the position needs to be taken and making a Will is the starting point in this process.

Before seeing us about making a Will, we advise that you make a note of what you own and think about the value in very rough terms. Then think about who you would like to benefit from any of these assets and anybody else that you would like to make gifts to or have specifically remembered in your Will. Also you may wish to think about making gifts to charities.

We will need to know about your personal circumstances with information about your children, whether you are married or separated and your position in connection with work and pensions. Also think about any people that you didn’t want named in your Will and whether they might think they should have a claim on your estate. Steps can be taken to ensure that these sorts of situation are avoided and the position is clear on your death to avoid any uncertainty or dispute.

You also need to think about who you would wish to have as Executors for your estate. These are the people who deal with the administration of your estate. It is often a good idea to have close friends or family as one of the Executors. However it may also be sensible to think about having professional Executors such as your Solicitors, as you will probably need Solicitors to administer the estate in any case.

We are really looking to promote the making of Wills at this time, as we believe it is extremely important to plan ahead to take advantage of the current legal position where possible and to provide certainty for the future and thereby protection for you and your family, which is likely to also provide a significant financial saving.

ABM