Why is it important to make a Will?

It is important to make a Will whether you think you may or may not have many possessions, or much money. There are many reasons why making a Will is so important:

• unmarried partners and partners who have not registered a civil partnership cannot inherit from each other unless there is a written Will, which could cause serious financial problems from the death of one partner for the one remaining
• should there be children, you will need to make a Will so that arrangements for the children can be made if either one or both parents die
• it might be possible to have the amount of tax payable on the inheritance reduced, if legal advice by a qualified legal professional is sought and a Will is made
• if you die, and you have not made a Will, there are certain rules which decide how your property, money or possessions should be allocated. This may not be how you would have wished your money and possessions to be distributed and relatives and friends may not receive what you wanted them to inherit
• it is important to make a Will even if your circumstances have changed. For example, if you have separated and your ex partner now lives with someone else, you may wish for your Will to be altered, and if you are married or have entered in to a civil partnership, this will make any previous Will you have made invalid, rendering it legally unenforceable.

Is it necessary to go to a solicitor?

There is no need to go and see a solicitor to have a Will drawn up, or even have a solicitor witness it. You can, providing your Will is going to be straightforward, write one yourself.

It is, however, advisable to use a solicitor, or ask one to check a Will you have drawn up to ensure it will have the effect you want. It is easy to make mistakes and, should there be an error present in the Will, it may cause many problems after your death. Having to sort out disputes and misunderstandings may result in considerable legal costs for relatives and friends, which could easily cause considerable upset and even reduce the amount of money in the estate.

You should always remember that a solicitor will charge for their services when drawing up or checking a Will. Before you undertake legal advice, check the costs the solicitor will charge you to be certain you have got the best deal, and that you are getting the most appropriate advice for your needs.

There are a few common mistakes in making a Will, they are:-

• changing a Will, if the alterations are not signed and witnessed, they are invalid
• not being aware of the legal requirements needed to make a Will valid
• failing to take in to consideration that the beneficiary may die before the person who made the Will
• failing to take in to account all the property and money available in its entirety
• being unaware of the effect of a civil partnership, marriage, dissolution, a registered civil partnership, or a divorce on the validity of a Will
• not being aware of the rules which exist to enable dependants to claim from the estate if they believe they are not sufficiently provided for. These rules mean that the provisions contained in the Will may be overturned if challenged in a court of law.

What should be included in a will?

You may save solicitors fees by considering some major points you want included in your Will prior to your meeting by using a Will Planner, such as :

• who should look after any children under the age of 18
• the value of property, money and possessions, for instance, any pensions, insurance policies, savings, property, shares and bank and building society accounts
• who you would like to benefit from your Will, the Beneficiaries. You would need to make a list of what money or possessions you’d like to leave and to whom, and also if you wish to leave any money to charity
• who is going to sort out your estate and carry out your wishes in your Will, the Executors. Who are the Executors?

Executors have the responsibility of carrying out the wishes you have set out in your Will, and to sort out your estate. Their role is to deal with all the paperwork and sort out any debts, collect together all the assets of the estate, taxes, funeral and administration costs which will be paid by money from your estate. After all costs have been met, they will then pay out any gifts and transfer any property to the beneficiaries listed in your Will.

People most commonly appointed as executors include:

• relatives or friends
• solicitors or accountants
• banks
• in England and Wales, the public trustee or in some cases the Official Solicitor if there is no one else willing or able to act

It is advisable to appoint more than one executor for your Will, although it is not necessary, it is common to appoint two, but up to four executors can take on the role.

When choosing executors it is extremely important to do so with a great deal of care, as their job involves a great deal of work and responsibility. You should always approach someone who you are thinking of appointing as an executor to see if they will take on the responsibility, but if they are not willing to do so, they have the right to refuse.

Where to keep a Will?

Once you have made your Will, it will need to be kept in a safe place, and no other documents should be attached to it. The ideal places to keep a Will include:

• with a solicitor
• at a bank
• at home

Change of circumstances

It is very important to keep a Will up to date to take account of changes in circumstances once it has been made. You should regularly reconsider the contents of your Will to make sure it still reflects your wishes. If you have small changes to make, you can use a Codicil document The most common reasons to change your Will are:-to amend your existing Will. This acts as a supplementary page to your Will, and will need to be signed by witnesses. The Will shall then be read as if the Codicil was a part of it.

Destroying a Will

If you should want to destroy your Will, you must tear it up, burn it, or destroy in such a way that it is clear that your intention is to ensure that it is revoked and rendered legally unenforceable. There is a risk that if any copy of your Will that has been made suddenly appears, or the pieces of your Will are reassembled, then it might be deemed that the destruction of the Will was a mistake or accidental. The Will must be destroyed by either yourself, or destroyed in your presence. If the Will is accidentally destroyed, it is not revoked, and is still valid.

Although a Will can be revoked by it being destroyed, it is always recommended that a new Will should be created. A Will should contain a clause revoking all previous Will and Codicils, rendering all previous intentions, statements, Wills and Codicils obsolete.