Making a Will

Making a Will is an essential step in estate planning regardless of your wealth and will give you peace of mind knowing that you have made arrangements regarding the administration of your estate, setting out clearly who is to receive your property and possessions, and avoiding disputes between relatives and unnecessary legal costs.

Advantages of making a Will

By making a Will you can appoint executors to deal with administering your property and affairs on death, you can nominate guardians for your minor children, express your wishes regarding your funeral arrangements, and decide what is to happen to your property and possessions. Your Will can also be used to make sure you don’t pay more inheritance tax than is necessary and may also be used to protect your home and savings should you be admitted into a care home.

It is particularly important that you make a Will if you are an unmarried couple living together or you have been divorced and you are in a new relationship.

Dying without having made a Will

It is estimated that only three people in ten make a Will resulting in a considerable number of legal disputes to unravel problems caused by the person having died intestate. If you die without having made a Will, the intestacy rules will apply to the administration of your estate. Many people assume that if you are married or in a civil partnership your spouse or partner will automatically inherit everything you own when you die. This may not be the case and may only inherit part of what you own. The important points to consider in these circumstances are:

• The law will state who will administer your estate.
• The courts will have power to appoint a guardian for your minor children and when making this decision, the court’s must have regard to the child’s best interests. If there is no one suitable to appoint, the children may be placed in the care of the local authority.
• Your property and possessions may not pass to those you would like to benefit. If you leave a spouse or civil partner, they will receive the first £250,000 of your estate, your personal chattels and a life interest in one half of the remainder of your estate. If you have under £250,000 in your estate, your children, or children from a previous relationship may get nothing. If you leave a spouse or civil partner, but no children, they will receive the first £400,000 of your estate, with the remainder being distributed amongst other relatives.

For more information on making a Will, please call equityCare Legal Services direct on 01594 838940 or take a few minutes to complete our enquiry / request callback form and we will contact you as soon as possible.