Why should I have a Will?

A will permits you to do many things that would not be possible if you were to die intestate (without a will). This includes specifying the person(s) who will administer your estate, giving direction to your executors as to what is to happen to specific assets, achieving desired tax and estate planning objectives, protecting your assets from being used to pay for Long Term Care fees and indicating who should be the custodians of your young children.

What happens if I die without a Will?

Dying without a will (intestate) will have various consequences. Firstly, the cost of administering your estate will be higher, and the person who is given authority to administer your assets will not necessarily be someone you would have chosen. The distribution of your estate is fixed by statue, irrespective of your intentions or the beneficiaries' needs, with all amounts paid out to heirs as soon as they turn 18 years of age. In the meantime, trustees are limited in the scope of the investments they can choose to make on behalf of minors, with the Children's Lawyer, a government appointee, administering the share for a child. If you have children your spouse may not inherit everything.

If you are living with a partner and are not married to them, he/she will not be able to keep anything that belongs to you. All of our assets will be distributed according to the law.

If you were to die without a will intestate the law determines who gets your assets and how much. These rules say that your spouse, if you have children, gets only the first £125,000, including the value of your house (if the house is worth more than £125,000 this may have to be sold). Without children, they will get the first £200,000. Beyond that, things become more complicated.

You can choose who carries out your wishes (your Executors). You can set out whom you wish to benefit from your estate and in what proportions. A Will can allow you to set up a fund to benefit people long after you have passed away (a trust). You can benefit charities if you want. A Will provides certainty as to what is to happen to you and can give guidance to your views on organ donation. This can be of much help to relatives at a difficult time.

A Will is your wish. There is no point doing one if people can simply change it after you've gone. Sometimes people may try to challenge or "contest" a Will. People may argue that someone did not understand what they were doing when they made their Will or that they were pushed into it. Sometimes a person may have been left out of a Will (by accident or on purpose) when that person was reliant on the person who has died for money and financial support. In these circumstances the law can allow certain people to try to claim from an estate. It is very important therefore that you take legal advice when doing a Will. With vast experience in Will drafting and estate administration, we can help you avoid possible pitfalls.

It is advisable to review your Will generally every five or six years. There may be many reasons though which mean you should review your Will. You may have married since you made your last Will (in which case you Will may actually have been revoked) or you may be divorcing or separating. You may have children or more children or grandchildren now and want to include then in your Will. Your wealth may have gone up and Inheritance Tax could affect you now. Has the value of your house gone up in the last five or six years? If you need to alter your Will you should seek legal advice. We can recommend whether you need a new Will or simply a Codicil. You should not attempt to alter your own existing Will or attach anything to it. This could cause your Will to be void or give many problems to your Executors.

You can try, but many of the problems encountered with Wills often come from "home-made" Wills. The Probate Registry will usually have to approve the Will before your estate can be collected in. Incomplete signatures, not enough witnesses, pages missing, no date, wrong names, ineffective gifts and not revoking an earlier Will are a few examples of things which can go wrong if you have not sought legal advice for the preparation of your Will.