How to Make a Will

When making a will you need to ensure that the document which is produced gives a full expression of your wishes regarding what happens to your property and interests after your death. When the time comes to make your Will it can sometimes be difficult to know where you should start. The following are a few suggestions as to the issues that you should consider before you instruct us to draft your will. By considering the issues in advance, the will making process shall become far easier.

Contact our Wills, Tax & Estate Planning team for advice on making a Will.

Limits on Testamentary Freedom

• When considering how you would like to distribute you estate, you must bear in mind that there are certain limitations on the destination of particular assets. If you hold property jointly with another then this property passes automatically to the survivor and does not fall into your estate and therefore does not pass by your will. In other words, you cannot leave the property to anyone else other than the joint owner. However, if you would like to leave your share of a jointly owned asset to someone other than the joint owner then this can be arranged by a simple severance of the joint tenancy.
• Certain assets, such as pension death benefits or lump sum payments from life policies are nominated for the benefit of particular persons or can be held in trust for another. Careful reading of the policy documents is required to see if you are free to leave this kind of asset by your will.
• You must also consider carefully whether a person that you wish to benefit is financially responsible i.e. are they likely to squander any money that they receive. If you do not consider them to be financially responsible then there are certain mechanisms that can be put into place to protect their inheritance. Such mechanisms generally involve the use of a trust or perhaps simply restricting the age at which they are entitled to receive their inheritance, e.g waiting until they attain the age of 25 years.
• Finally, you may have responsibilities towards others, e.g you maintain a person financially, perhaps a previous spouse or a child which does not live with you. If so, and you decide not to benefit that person by your will, then there is a possibility that the aggrieved person may be able to make an application for provision from your estate. In order to do this they can make an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, for an order of the court for provision. This can be very costly and thus can increase the cost of administering an estate considerably.

Guardians of Minor Children

• If you have children that are under the age of 18 when you draft your will then guardianship should be considered. A guardian is a person who will be legally responsible for your child or children. One guardian is usually appointed but in some cases two, perhaps a married couple is appropriate. You must also take into consideration the possibility that the person appointed as guardian of your children may need some financial provision. Perhaps if your estate is quite small or in the event that they have a large family of their own and would need to acquire a larger house to live in. A simple life insurance policy, which you would pay a small amount into each month, then written in trust for your children would be an effective way of making provision for such a circumstance. This would prevent the guardian from suffering from unnecessary financial hardship as a result of their guardianship. Our independent financial division, Furley Financial, can provide you with quotes for such a policy if you so wish.

Long-Stop Beneficiaries

• When you are contemplating making a will you should deal with every eventuality. Who would you want to benefit if those people you indicate should benefit were to pre-decease you or if all your immediate family perish as the result of an accident? If you travel a lot as a family then the likelihood of this happening is greater than first imagined. Some people may choose close family friends to benefit in the event of such a tragedy, but alternatively you could consider a gift to charity.

Funeral Wishes

• Wills can be used to indicate to your Executors and your family your funeral wishes. You may have strong feelings regarding either burial or cremation. Quite often people indicate in detail how they would like their funeral to be carried out as a way of removing a painful decision from hands of the loved ones that are left behind to make the arrangements.

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