Having a Will brings peace of mind for your loved ones no matter your age, marital status, or size of your estate.
A Will let’s you set out where you want your assets to go after you die. By writing a Will you help to prevent unnecessary pain, stress and worry for your loved ones.
If you already have a Will, some good reasons to update your will include:
getting married, starting a civil partnership, or getting divorced
if you become a parent or grandparent
if you are moving home
if you have a significant change in your financial situation
if the executor or beneficiary named in your will passes away
If you die without a will, it’s called dying intestate. And the laws of intestacy will decide who should inherit your property, money and possessions. As these laws are over 100 years old, they don’t take modern families into account, like unmarried couples and step children. So, if you and your partner are not married, or haven’t registered a civil partnership, your partner will not inherit all your assets automatically.
If you have a child under the age of 18, in certain circumstances social services or the courts will make decisions about who takes care of them. So writing a will is the best way to protect your loved ones and make your wishes known.
To make your will legally binding you need to make sure it is signed alongside two witnesses. Both witnesses need to watch you sign your Will at the same time, then add their own details and signatures. If your will is ever contested in the future, your witnesses can testify that they watched you sign your will.
Your witnesses should be over the age of 18 and people you trust. They cannot be a beneficiary of your will, or married to one of your beneficiaries.
Writing a will is one of the simplest ways to protect the people you love and offers you peace of mind.
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Probate is usually required if the estate of the person who died is worth more than £10,000. However, if most of the assets in the estate were jointly owned, probate may not be needed at all.
Probate is required after around 50% of deaths in the UK and can be needed whether there is a will or not. Here are two things you can do to find out if you need probate:
If the total value of the estate is less than £10,000, you probably won’t need to apply for probate.
If all the assets in the estate are jointly owned – such as property, bank accounts and savings – these will automatically pass to the surviving co-owner. You won’t need to apply for probate to release these assets, you’ll just need the death certificate.
Probate can be needed whether there’s a will or not. If the estate you’re dealing with is worth more than £10,000 and includes a number of solely-owned assets, then you probably need probate.
However, if the estate you’re dealing with is worth less than £10,000 or is only made up of joint assets (such as a mortgage or joint bank account), then you may not need probate.
Once you’ve worked out that you need probate and built up a good picture of the assets and debts within the estate, you should start your application as soon as possible. The government can take a little while to approve applications, so the sooner yours is submitted, the better.
You may need probate if your husband or wife dies and leaves behind assets that aren’t jointly owned with you. However, if you’re the joint owner of their property and bank accounts, probate may not be required.
If you were named the executor of your spouse or civil partner’s will, you may need to apply for probate before you can administer their estate. We will help you cover the main steps you need to follow before you can close accounts and distribute assets to beneficiaries.
If your husband, wife or civil partner died without a will, you’ll be their next of kin under the rules of intestacy. This means that you stand to inherit the first £322,000 of their estate, plus 50% of anything that remains.
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
A lasting power of attorney is just like making a will and is a great way to give you peace of mind for the future.
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document that allows you to appoint someone you know and trust to make important decisions on your behalf should you lose capacity to do so yourself.
Lasting Power of Attorney gives you control over what happens to you and your affairs during your lifetime. Without one, there is no guarantee that your wishes will be followed.
There are two different types of lasting power of attorney:
If you have an accident or illness that means you can no longer look after your affairs, your next of kin may not be automatically allowed to make decisions on your behalf unless you have a lasting power of attorney.
If your family wanted to act on your behalf without one, they would need to apply to become a deputy, which can be a long and expensive legal process.
Your LPA should include legal instructions about your health and finances, such as:
My attorneys must not sell my home unless, I am no longer able live independently anymore
My attorneys must continue donating to charities I have supported or have a standing order with
Your will sets out what you want to happen to your accounts and property after you die, and it also appoints executors to take responsibility for those things for you.
A lasting power of attorney sets out the instructions you want people to follow while you are still alive, in case you can’t make decisions for yourself. These people are called your “attorneys”.
Your attorneys should be people over 18. You can choose up to four attorneys who you trust to act in your best interests, such as:
Your partner, wife or husband
Your child, if they are over 18
Your sister or brother
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Trusts are legal entities that allow someone to benefit from an asset without being the legal owner,
You create the trust and appoint people to manage it – the ‘trustee’, on behalf of the ‘beneficiaries’ – who receive the benefit of the assets of the trust.
A ‘will trust’ is a way of giving a person, or group of people, control over certain assets when you die. There are different reasons to set up a will trust, for example:
to protect assets for beneficiaries who may not be able to manage them, like leaving property to a young person, or money to someone who is vulnerable
to provide an income or a home for a spouse or partner during their lifetime
to protect money you’re leaving to beneficiaries in certain circumstances, for example, if they are going through a divorce or at risk of bankruptcy
The reasons for setting up a trust fund vary widely. They usually include:
Placing assets in trust might minimise estate and inheritance tax (IHT) liabilities.
as a means by which someone can provide for a spouse while ensuring that assets are ultimately passed to children
to protect against excessive, detrimental, discretionary spending. Creating a trust is an ideal way of controlling assets for loved ones who have a hard time curtailing their compulsive spending habits
The short answer is a lot. A trust may fit the description of two or more different types. These are just a few:
disbursement — a protective trust (where the settlor is a beneficiary)
character — a charitable purpose trust (also called public trust, where the beneficiary strictly fits any of four charitable categories)
revocability — a revocable trust (where the settlor retains ownership and control of trust assets and can alter the trust deed at any time)
establishment — an express trust (where the settlor establishes or creates the trust)
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
When it comes to protecting your assets and the people who
are precious to you, it is vital that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Contact our team for guidance on managing your estate.
Professional will writers, serving the Midlands and beyond since 1993.
0121 517 1731
07931 991 717
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