Will Writing Service Solicitors

What happens if you die without making a Will?

If you live in England or Wales and you die having not made a legally valid Will you are said to have “Died Intestate” and you could be leaving behind substantial financial problems for your close family. Without a will your estate is referred to probate court where the Crowns Intestacy Laws determine who will inherit your estate.

This generally means that if you have no living family members who can inherit under the rules of intestacy, your estate passes to the Crown. This process is known as ‘Bona Vacantia’ and at this point a treasury solicitor will be responsible for dealing with your estate, including all property and possessions.

Additionally, if you have children under 18 years of age, the court will make decisions about who will take care of the children and manage their finances, education and living arrangements.

By using our solicitor drafted Will Writing Service and making a legally valid Will you can specify your exact wishes and your chosen executors will ensure they are carried out precisely.

What exactly is a Will?

A Will can be just for yourself or for you and your partner and is a legal document that allows you to declare what you wish should happen after you have passed away. By making a Will you can:

• Appoint Executors – One or more people you trust to carry out the terms of your Will (an executor can also be a beneficiary)
• Appoint Guardians – To look after your children if under 18 years
• Name Beneficiaries – People or charities you want to benefit from your estate
• Leave Legacies – Gifts of specific items or fixed sums of money
• Create Trusts – To help vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries, protect your assets for future generations or protect against residential care costs
• State Funeral Wishes – This aspect of your Will is only a statement of a wish and is not legally binding on your executors

Your Will deals with the assets that you possessed at the time of your death, not what you had at the time of writing your Will. So even if you feel that you have little to leave right now, your financial situation could change considerably in the future. Particularly if you expect to pay off your mortgage, draw a pension or possibly receive an inheritance at some point.

Therefore making a Will could be the nicest thing you ever do for your family and friends.

Does getting divorced affect my will?

Once your divorce has been finalised your will is not cancelled, it still remains valid. However, the divorce does mean that your former spouse will no longer be able to act as an executor, nor can they be a beneficiary, so they can’t inherit from your Will.

While this outcome may be desired, it is not always the case, and if so you need to update your will accordingly to include your ex-spouse.

Why making a will is important?

Making a will is one of those things that most of us think is a good idea but nevertheless, still keep putting off. Having a will is an important way to protect your family and loved ones because it helps avoid family disputes about how your possessions should be divided after you are gone. It can also save on inheritance tax, something that few of us wish to see paid from our estate.

Furthermore, when a person dies without leaving a valid will, their estate must be distributed under to the rules of Intestacy and the person who has died is called an ‘Intestate Person’.

According to the rules of Intestacy, only spouses or civil partners and some other close relatives can inherit from the estate.

6 Reasons to make a Will

These are the top 6 reasons to make a will:

1. Dependent Children – Besides providing for your children financially, if they’re under 18 you need to consider who would look after them and nominate legal guardians. If you die without a will and no other person has parental responsibility the courts decide who takes care of your children, and may not choose who you want. So it’s essential to record your wishes in a will.
2. Not Married to your Partner – If you cohabit and are not married or in a civil partnership, your partner will not automatically be a beneficiary if you don’t make a will. This could mean them not being able to stay in the home you shared together.
3. Inheritance Tax Liability – If your estate is worth more than £325,000 including your share of property, everything above the Inheritance Tax threshold could incur a tax liability when you die. Making a will can help avoid IHT by leaving everything above the tax threshold to your spouse as there is no Inheritance Tax payable on assets left to a spouse.
4. Change of Personal Circumstances – Always write a will or update an existing will when you marry, divorce or have children to ensure the people who stand to benefit are those that you choose. In England & Wales (but not Scotland) any existing will is automatically cancelled, or revoked, when you get married.
5. Specific Funeral Wishes – If you have thoughts on how you want your funeral to be planned, you can leave instructions so that your family doesn’t have to make the decisions for you.
6. Ownership of Property – If you own your home on a Joint Tenants basis, when you die your ownership automatically passes to the other owner under ‘Survivorship Rules’, but if you own your property on a Tenants in Common basis, the Intestacy Rules will apply unless you have a will. If you own property overseas, inheritance laws may be different from those in the UK.

Our family law solicitors have extensive experience in estate planning and will writing to ensure your exact wishes are carried out after your death.

To make a free initial consultation to discuss your affairs simply use the Request A Free Call-back feature, LiveChat or call us on Tel: 01554 756952