Who Should Make A Will?

Everyone over the age of 18 should make a Will. Even if you have made a Will you should review it regularly to make sure it reflects your circumstances.

If you die without a Will which is called dying Intestate, your estate will pass according to the Intestacy Rules whereby a surviving spouse or civil partner may only receive a proportion of your estate and not all of it.

If you are unmarried and living with a partner, the Intestacy Rules do not include your partner and your estate may pass directly to your children or parents or to another relative who you may not want to benefit from your Estate. If you make a Will, you can ensure that this will not happen as you can say what you want to happen to your estate when you die.

Executors

• You can appoint trusted friends or loved ones as your Executors to carry out your wishes.

Funeral

• You can specify your wishes to make it easier for your loved one when the time comes.

Children

• If you have children under 18 you may want to appoint a guardian for them.
• If you are paying maintenance for a child from a previous marriage or relationship, you can make provisions for them to avoid any potential claim against your estate.
• You may want to make provisions for step-children and grandchildren.
• You may want to leave a property or share of a property to your children.

Divorce and Separation

• When your Decree Absolute has been made, any gift you’re a spouse or civil partner will fail as your will is revoked. When you separate, it is important to review your Will to ensure that your spouse or civil partner does not benefit from your estate.
• In circumstances such as separation and divorce, it might be appropriate to sever a joint tenancy to enable you to leave your respective share of a property directly to your children and you will need advice on whether to proceed with this and how your Will should reflect this.

Marriage

• If you re-marry, marry or enter into a Civil Partnership, any Will you have made prior to that marriage or Civil Partnership will be revoked. You will need a new Will.

Property

• When you purchase a property jointly with someone else either a spouse, civil partner or partner, you will have the option of holding the property as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common.
• If you hold the property as Joint Tenants and one person dies the property will automatically be in the name of the survivor or survivors.
• If you hold the property as Tenants in Common you may hold the property in equal shares or in whatever shares you have elected.

If you think that your existing Will, Enduring Power of Attorney or Lasting Power of Attorney needs changing, we will review your situation based on an hourly charging rate to be agreed in advance.

For your added peace of mind, we hold substantial professional indemnity insurance and we are also members of The Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW).