Wills
If you have assets, property or children, you should have a Will. We can ensure that your property and assets are passed on to the people you love and care for in the way you would like and that provision is made for the care of your children in the event of your death.
With sensitivity and using our experience and understanding, we can help you make a Will that will, in the event of your death, create certainty and guard against your estate being distributed against your wishes.
There are many common misunderstandings about what happens if you die without leaving a Will. Whether you want to protect your assets for your children or make provision for a spouse or unmarried partner, it’s important not to leave matters to chance and to seek the specialist advice we can offer you. We’ll create a Will carefully tailored to your situation and circumstances.
If you would like to find out more, download our leaflet "Top 5 dangers of not having a will" here or please contact us.
Our services to you:
| Free reviews of existing Wills | |
| Wills & Codicils – including appointment of guardians for children | |
| Living Wills & Advance Decisions – set out medical treatment preferences | |
| Financial savings & Inheritance Tax Planning | |
| Trusts to protect assets | |
| Will disputes & Beneficial Enquiries | |
| Court of Protection |
The Procedure
Law Society guidelines to all Solicitors are they they should see their clients in person or via a Teams meeting, and certainly without any other person being present. This is not supposed to cast an air of suspicion but simply to afford full protection for the Client, the beneficiaries and the Solicitor. We observe the Law Society guidelines but are prepared to be flexible and use our discretion if necessary.
We do, however, have many clients who are elderly or infirm and we offer a home visit in those circumstances. Once we have seen you to take full and detailed instructions, we will draft a Will and send it to you by post for your approval. There is, by definition, some legal terminology in the Will, which is necessary for it to be fully enforceable. We will, wherever possible, utilise “user friendly” language and will not include legal terms unless necessary. If there is legal terminology or any other aspect of your Will that you cannot understand when you receive it, please ask us to explain it to you.
When we have your approval to the Will, we prepare a final version for your signature. Once again, for your protection, where possible we see you in person to supervise signature and therefore to make sure the Will is legal and binding. We provide the witnesses but if we are attending at your home and you prefer it, then you can provide the required two independent witnesses of your own, otherwise we will bring the witnesses from our office. We will explain the procedure for this at the time. We can also make arrangements for you to sign your Will 'at home' where our attendance upon you is not possible. We will send clear instructions as to how to do this at the time.
Once the Will has been signed, we would encourage you to leave the original in our safe custody, where we will retain it for you indefinitely and free of charge. The Will is your property and if you prefer to keep it at home or in storage elsewhere, please advise us. We do not recommend that it is stored at home. In our experience other organisations (i.e. Banks) do charge a fee for storage of documents. If you ask us to retain the document for you in safe custody, then we will provide you with a photocopy of the signed and dated original, for your retention.
What do i need to consider when making my will?
There are many booklets/check lists on the subject, and we can assist you on any of the following issues (and indeed other matters) as necessary. The purpose of the notes below is to deal with the main general issues that arise, they are not intended and never can deal with each and every situation.
Beneficiaries
This is the primary thing to be considered, in most cases; who would you like to have your estate when you have died? You may choose to leave the entire estate to one person, or perhaps divide it between more than one, either in equal or unequal shares. Please bear in mind that the shares will be of the estate at the time of your death and accordingly, if you have left cash legacies (see below) then the residue of your estate will diminish if the capital value of your estate reduces during your lifetime. In that situation, you will need to keep your Will under regular review.
You need to consider who you would like to benefit should one of your primary beneficiaries die before you, otherwise that share of the estate will probably not pass in the way that you would like.
You also need to consider any cash legacies that you wish to make. Once again, please give thought to who you would like to have that legacy should the primary beneficiary die. If you do not stipulate this, then the cash legacy will fall into the residue of your estate and be dealt with in accordance with those provisions of your Will.
Finally, you need to think about what are known as specific legacies, i.e. jewellery, personal possessions and collections, furniture, other belongings, including your motor car.
'Executors' and 'Trustees'
These individuals are responsible for administering your estate, following your death. The Trustees are almost always the same people as the Executors. In most cases, the Executors/Trustees will be dealing with your estate after your death, and it will then be 'wound up' with the money being passed to the beneficiaries. In other cases, where there is an ongoing Trust (i.e. infant beneficiaries who cannot benefit until reaching at least 18 years of age or other Trusts) then the Trustees could be in control for a number of years following your death.
You must have at least one Executor and you cannot appoint more than four. We will advise you on the number that are appropriate in your situation, but we seldom recommend more than three Executors and usually only one or two will be required.
You should choose as Executors somebody who you consider to be trustworthy, they should not be older than you and preferably should be of a younger generation. It is also sensible to have at least one Executor who is local.
Once again, you need to consider who will act in substitution if any one of your Executors dies before you.
It is essential that you speak to your proposed Executors before signing the Will, to ensure that they will be happy to act as your Executors.
Guardians
If you die with children under 18 years of age then, subject to any other person having parental responsibility of the child at the date of your death, you are entitled to appoint legal guardians in your Will. The Court will always have an overriding jurisdiction as to guardianship, but it is important that you use your Will to inform a Court of your wishes as to who should look after your children.
Obviously the most important concern is who the children will be happy with, and we therefore recommend that, wherever possible, subject to emotional difficulties that may be created, you speak to the children as to where they would like to live. You should also, of course, speak to the guardians to make sure that they are happy to be appointed.
Once again, it is sensible to appoint guardians who are local, so that there will be minimum disruption on your children with schooling and their general welfare. In today's society, many families are spread wide apart, and it may be that you would like a member of your family to be a guardian, in which case there is little point in choosing somebody who is less suitable but happens to live locally. You should also appoint guardians who are of the same or a younger generation than you.
Tax Planning
In appropriate cases, we will advise you on tax planning matters. In order to carry out our job efficiently for you, we will always ask for information as to your financial position. Please co-operate with us in that respect, as we would assure you that we are not attempting to pry into areas that are of no concern. It is only by having full financial information from you that we can properly advise you as to how your Will should be prepared. Please therefore help us to help you in this respect.
The main tax that will be of effect here is Inheritance Tax, but Capital Gains Tax and/or Income Tax can also arise and, to provide you with the most efficient service, we do need to go through these things with you.
If you are potentially liable for Inheritance Tax, we shall discuss with you the various possibilities of mitigating the Inheritance Tax bill, but we will stress to you the balance that you need to have between saving tax on the one hand and not depriving one of your beneficiaries (i.e. your spouse) of a standard of living on the other hand.
Cremation/Burial
If you have particular requirements in this respect, it is sensible to include them in your Will. They are not of any legal and binding effect, and you may therefore prefer to let us have a note to put with your Will stipulating your requirements. We do, however, strongly recommend that you let us know your wishes, even if you have already made it absolutely clear to many members of the family what you would like following your death. You would be surprised how many telephone calls we have from relatives asking if there is something in the Will, as there has just been a bereavement and they are not sure what to do with the body. If you have taken out a pre-paid funeral plan, please let us know. We would suggest that the original of the plan is placed with your Will.
Keeping It Under Review
Once the Will has been signed, you should keep it under review. Circumstances will change and it will in some cases be obvious to you that you need to contact us to make amendments in your Will. It is, however, a useful exercise to review your Will at least every 3 years in any event. You will be amazed at how many things have changed within that period. Certain changes need to be dealt with by way of a fresh Will. Other alterations are relatively minor and can be dealt with by the preparation of a Codicil (this is a short document amending the Will). Other things, such as a change of address, do not need new legal documentation to be prepared, but can simply be dealt with by us putting a note with your existing Will. We will obviously advise you as to which is the best course of action in your situation but once again, if in doubt, please ask.
Family Background
To ensure that we have considered all relevant aspects and can again give you full and detailed advice, we will always ask for details of your family situation and background. Once again, please help us to help you in this respect since unfortunately these days contentious probate (where people make claims to estates after death) are on the increase. We wish to avoid your Will being contested.
Any Questions?
We pride ourselves on being a 'user friendly' firm who gear our service towards the requirements and convenience of our clients. Please therefore do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions whatsoever. Even if you do not understand every single word of the Will (and particularly some legal terminology that we may use), it is important that, after you have signed your Will, you do understand and agree with the basic thrust of it and that we have explained to you all the relevant issues.
