Do I really need a Will?
More than half of UK adults don’t have a will, leaving the government to decide how their assets are distributed. Are you one of them?
Why write a Will?
1. Control:
Writing a Will is crucial to ensure that your wishes are met after your death and that your loved ones are cared for. A Will allows you to specify exactly how you want your assets distributed. Without a Will, your estate will be divided according to the rules of intestacy, which may not align with your wishes.
2. Appointing Guardians for Minor Children:
If you have children under 18, a will enables you to appoint guardians to care for them. This ensures that your children are looked after by someone you trust, rather than leaving the decision to the courts. This can greatly reduce the stress and uncertainty following your death.
3. Appointing an Executor
Executors deal with your estate on your death and have wide ranging responsibilities, from sorting through your possessions, to accounting to HMRC for any tax payable. They would also become the trustees of any trusts created (including statutory Trusts, where the law creates an automatic trust, such as when a beneficiary is under the age of 18). A Will gives you the opportunity to nominate someone you trust to do this role.
4. Minimising Family Disputes:
Clearly outlining your wishes in a will can help prevent disputes among family members. It provides clarity and reduces the potential for conflict over your estate.
5. Tax Efficiency:
A well-drafted will can help minimise inheritance tax liabilities, ensuring that more of your estate is passed on to your beneficiaries rather than being lost to taxes. It can also be an opportunity to assess your assets to see if you need to do any lifetime planning to minimise tax.
6. Establishing Trusts:
Contrary to popular belief, trusts are not just for the wealthy! They are particularly useful for blended families or in any situation where you want to protect your share of the estate for the next generation. You can use your will to set up trusts, which can; -
- Provide for beneficiaries who are not yet able to manage their inheritance, such as young children or individuals with disabilities.
- Protect your assets from future uncertainties, such as your spouse remarrying.
- Ensure fair distribution when your estate has multiple assets, and the value may fluctuate before your death.
- Assist with tax planning at the date of your death.
7. Charitable Donations:
If you wish to leave part of your estate to charity, a will is the best way to ensure that your philanthropic intentions are fulfilled.
8. Funeral Wishes:
Although not legally binding, a will is a suitable place to express your funeral preferences, providing guidance to your loved ones during a difficult time.
9. Dealing with business assets.
Writing a Will means that you can enable your executors to continue running your business and keep it as a going concern, ready to pass on to loved ones, if that is what you wish.
10. Peace of Mind:
Knowing that you have a will in place can provide peace of mind, both for you and your loved ones, knowing that your affairs are in order.
What are the problems with relying on the rules of Intestacy?
If you die without a Will, the law imposes the rules of intestacy, which determines who will inherit your estate. The rules of intestacy don’t always manage to achieve fairness, and have failed to keep up particularly with changing family dynamics. Some situations where the rules of intestacy may not create the result you wanted:
1. Assets passing to estranged family members
Members of your family such as estranged parents or siblings, could inherit all of your assets if you do not leave a Will.
2. Leaving your spouse in a vulnerable situation.
Depending on the value of your estate, spouses may not inherit everything but may have to share your assets with your children. In many situations this may not cause too much of an issue, but if your children are from a previous relationship, all parties can end up in a difficult position.
3. Leaving Children Vulnerable
Your spouse may inherit the bulk of your estate leaving your children vulnerable (particularly if they are not the children of your spouse). There is nothing to say that your children will ultimately inherit your assets.
4. Step Children
You may inadvertently leave people who rely on you, such as stepchildren, with nothing, as they are not recognised in the rules on intestacy.
5. No Protection for Cohabiting Couples
If you are not married to your life partner, you are leaving them particularly vulnerable as they are not recognised under the rules of intestacy and would not inherit any of your estate without recourse to court proceedings.
So why do half of the adult population not have a Will?
1. Lack of assets.
Many people believe that they do not have enough wealth to warrant a Will. However, the clarity a will can provide applies no matter what the level of assets are.
2. Time.
People may believe that they have plenty of time to make a will. However, on average 56,000 people a year under the age of 60 die in the UK (ONS). Not only this but should something happen to you causing you to lose capacity (e.g. an accident) you will not be able to make a Will. Drafting a will with us will take around 2 hours of your time in total. You do have time to make a Will!
3. Difficult discussions
We often come across clients who wish to avoid thinking and talking about death and even feel that the drafting of a will may be ‘tempting fate’. Don’t worry – this really isn’t the case. We also make our Will appointments as light-hearted as possible, and our kettle is always on.
4. Cost.
Many traditional law firms charge as much as £400 for a single Will, and couples Wills as much as £700 so we aren’t surprised many people feel the cost is prohibitive! Cornwall Will Writers strive to keep our costs as low as possible. We charge £150 for single Will, and £250 for couples Wills.
How we can help:
We offer a free, no obligation consultation, at our office in Truro, at your home, or online. At that meeting we can discuss:
- How a Will works
- Whether you are likely to have any Inheritance Tax to pay
- How best to protect and distribute your assets based on your personal circumstances
- Talk through any of your questions
- We’ll provide a fixed-fee quote with no hidden costs.
Make a no obligation appointment with us today -
Call: 01872 492095
email: info@cornwallwills.co.uk