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Why make a Will?
A Will gives you control.
A Will gives you options. A Will means that you can give
other people opportunities.
“It is too expensive”.
“everything I own will go automatically to my spouse or
my children” or “my assets are too insignificant”.
These are common misconceptions.
How often in your own life
have you thought that you would have done something, taken a
journey, taken a course, but you couldn’t because you didn’t
have the money? A Will can allow others to enjoy
opportunities that you never had. In essence a Will is a
tool that allows you to pass on your possessions to benefit
others.
The only certain way to
ensure that your spouse, partner, relative or other
beneficiary inherits what you intend is by making a Will.
If you die without having made a Will, the intestacy rules
apply in an arbitrary manner, particularly if there are no
children. This may lead to your spouse having to share your
estate with relatives (e.g. brothers and sisters, aunts and
uncles) whom you may never have intended to benefit
You can provide for
specific funeral arrangements. This is particularly
important for some clients. Some people ask for their body
to be donated to medical research. Often people who have
suffered from prolonged illness want to help reduce other
people’s suffering by helping to find new treatments
You can safeguard your
minor children’s interests (i.e. children under 18 years of
age) by appointing legal guardians to care for them if both
husband and wife have died - e.g. in an accident.
Personal items such as
jewellery, paintings and heirlooms can be passed on in the
Will and by reference to an informal Letter of Wishes. You
can benefit good causes by leaving a legacy or share of your
estate to charity free of Inheritance Tax (IHT).
Charities receive £1.65
billion per year through money left to them in Wills. It is
an important source of funding for them and it means that
you can give opportunities to others that you did not
necessarily enjoy yourself.
At present the Intestacy
Rules do not recognise co-habitees. Therefore, if you live
with your partner and die without having made a Will, your
partner will not automatically inherit any of your estate.
The estate will automatically pass to your surviving
family (i.e. children, parents, brothers and sisters) and
your partner will have to make a claim on the estate
claiming financial dependence if appropriate. If you have
children together with your partner then they will
automatically inherit the estate, and both your partner and
your children will have to get separate legal representation
in order to fight for a share in the estate. This is
expensive and obviously a situation that should be avoided.
A simple Will is all that is needed to ensure that your
partner and your children are provided for. A properly constituted Will could also help to save up to
£124,800 (2008/09) in Inheritance Tax by utilising each nil
rate band in the case of co-habitees.
The Civil Partnership Act
which came into force on 5th December 2005 has introduced a
legal registration for same-sex couples that puts their
relationship on par with married couples. Civil partners
therefore have the right to inherit if a partner dies
without leaving a Will. The Civil Partnership Act however
does not apply to non same-sex co-habitees with the inherent
problems mentioned above remaining.
Carol can help you make a
Will suitable for your individual circumstances.
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