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SERVICES

Wills

If you are thinking of making or changing your will, you may be looking for the final justification for making that step or you may be looking for help to decide what provision you should make in your will. We hope the information here will be of help to you.

Why Make a Will?

To make a positive demonstration of your feeling and generosity

You may be perfectly satisfied that the intestacy rules make exactly the provision you wanted to make for those you leave behind. Most people enjoy giving to others. Of course, you will not be there to see the reaction of the done but that piece of writing will mean something. By contrast, if you die without making a will, there will almost certainly be some people who are disappointed.

Because the Intestacy rules are not in accordance with your wishes.

The intestacy rules are there because something has to happen to an estate if a decision is not made by the deceased. In may cases, the intestacy rules are simply inappropriate. For example, if a person leaves a surviving spouse and children, the surviving spouse does not get all the estate. Most married people would want their spouse or civil partner to take the bulk of their estate if they are the first to die. The Intestacy rules are different in England and Wales are slightly different to those in Northern Ireland. To see the intestacy rules, click the appropriate link below.

To anticipate a potential claim against your estate.

Although in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, a person has complete testamentary freedom, there are still laws which allow people to make claims against the estate. The Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependants Act 1975 which applies to England and Wales and The Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependants (NI) Order 1979 which applies to Northern Ireland enable certain persons to make a claim if the provisions of the Will or the Intestacy rules are unfair. With professional advice about these potential claims and sound will planning, you can minimise the risk of this kind of claim being made. Consider the possibility of making a conditional gift, i.e. I give to A.B. £x provided that he does not make any claim against my estate.

To appoint Guardians for your children

If you die whilst your children are still minors, your will could determine who looks after your child, if you appoint a guardian. If there are no surviving persons with parental responsibility for your child the appointment of a guardian will confer Parental Responsibility onto that person on your death. Even if the appointment has no legal effect, it could be a very powerful influence on a court if there is a dispute over the future care of a child.

To Appoint Executors and Trustees

If there is no executor appointed to administer your estate, the Law Allows certain persons, in order of priority to take out a grant of your estate. By appointing an executor, you are giving somebody of your choice the task of winding up your estate. Most people react positively to the duty to wind up a persons estate.

A will can also appoint trustees if some of your estate is to be given in trust. This may be especially important if you have surviving children. You may or may not wish to appoint the same person who is to be guardian of your child to also be the trustee of their money. It is not unusual to appoint a person who is not the guardian to be a trustee of the child's money while the child is a minor.

To minimise tax liability

Minimising tax liability is important to most people. If your estate is worth more than the nil rate band (currently £300,000), it may be vulnerable to a potential tax liability. Depending on your circumstances, there are some steps that you can take when making a will to minimise this liability.