Wills

Why make a Will?

Almost 70% of people in the UK have not written a Will – which is a startling figure when you consider how important it is to have a Will in place.

If you die without having made a Will then your assets will be considered to be “Intestate”. That means that your family will have to apply to the Court for a Grant of Letters of Administration, if you are married then normally your assets would pass automatically to your spouse.

If you are not married, or your spouse has passed away, then your assets would be divided equally between your children or other relatives, but unfortunately there are often costly disputes about who inherits what.

There are also legal costs associated with applying for a Grant of Letters of Administration.

These costs and potential disputes can be easily avoided by making a Will.

There are also other personal matters than you can deal with in a Will, for example:

• Provision for the care of children- through a guardian clause
• Gifting jewellery or other possessions to specific individuals
• Arranging donations to Charities
• Making provision for the care of pets
• Setting out funeral arrangements for example

The list goes on, all of which are good reasons to make a Will.

There are also lots of misconceptions about who can inherit your estate. If you haven’t made a Will the following cannot inherit your estate:

• Unmarried partners – no matter how long you may have been together – there is no such thing as a “common law spouse” in law
• Relations by marriage – i.e. your brother in law
• Close friends
• Carers
• Same sex partners who are not married or in a Civil Partnership.

Again, the list goes on.

You should also be aware that without a Will, any children will inherit your estate once they are 18. By making a Will you can choose the date that they inherit your estate. It is also important to know that without a Will in place, a separated spouse could inherit a share of your estate.

Will Service

We provide a comprehensive Will Service to clients. We take detailed instructions from you about how you want to distribute your estate, which means you don’t have to visit a solicitor’s office and repeat your circumstances again to someone you don’t know. We then arrange for your Will(s) to be drawn up by the firm of solicitors who we use at a preferential rate.

Once the Will is prepared, we will come and see you and go through the Will with you to make sure everything is covered according to your wishes, and return the signed Will to the solicitors who will then send you a copy and arrange for your Will to be stored in a secure fire and waterproof facility for life.

The Will Service currently costs £200 for a Single Will or £300 for a Joint Will.

That includes your copies, lifetime secure storage, all postage and of course the face to service we provide.