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As part of our comprehensive service, Glanvilles has a Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning team in each of our offices. Our Solicitors have a wealth of experience in helping individuals protect their loved ones and put their affairs in order, during their lifetime and in the event of their death.
It is not essential to have a Will, but not having one can often lead to complications when dealing with the administration of your estate and will result in your assets being distributed in accordance with the law, not your own wishes. Your “estate” is made up of everything you own, for example your home, cash, savings, investments and personal property.
When someone dies without a Will, they are deemed to have died “intestate”, and their estate then passes in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy. Not only do these rules determine who will inherit, it also sets out who will be responsible for dealing with your financial affairs after you have died. It could therefore be the case that your assets pass to individual who you would not want to inherit from your estate. Dealing with someone’s affairs when there is no Will usually takes longer and can be more expensive.
By preparing a Will, you are in control. You choose who is authorised to deal with your affairs, known as your “Executors”, and who will inherit from your estate, known as your “Beneficiaries”.
There are also other benefits to having a Will in place, when we prepare your Will, we also provide advice relating to inheritance tax and estate planning. This may highlight options available that you may otherwise have been unaware of.
Yes, you can draft your own Will, but we often find that “homemade” Wills are the ones that may have issues with their validity, contain inconsistencies or at risk of being challenged.
By instructing a solicitor or legal professional to prepare your Will, you receive comprehensive advice that can help to avoid common pitfalls. In almost all of our Will meetings when taking instructions, we have discussions about matters that would not have otherwise been considered and raise questions about what should happen in different scenarios.
A professionally drafted Will offers protection for you and your family, to ensure that your wishes are followed, and all steps are taken to reduce any issues dealing with your estate after you have passed away.
There are limitations of what can be done in your Will to change the inheritance tax treatment of your estate. However, there are options that we can discuss with you and advise on to see whether it is appropriate in your personal circumstances.
Drafting a Will is personal to you, and therefore the initial discussion to prepare your Will does involve discussing personal information and often answering some quite difficult questions.
When taking instructions for drafting your Will, we ask questions about your personal and financial circumstances. This is so that we can assist with preparing a Will that is custom made for you and means that you can be confident your loved ones with have an easier time dealing with the administration of your estate.
The information we ask for will include details of your assets, such as property, bank accounts, investments, savings, and any liabilities, such as credit card debts, mortgages or outstanding loans. This not only helps us to calculate the tax liability (if any) but also highlights anything that may need to be addressed in the Will to ensure that it is dealt with after you have passed away.
The reason we ask about your personal circumstances, is to advise you on the prospect of someone making a claim against your estate. Whilst we always hope this to be a remote possibility, inevitably these situations can arise. By building a picture of your family tree, and discussing this in relation to your Will, we can assess the risk and provide further information about whether someone could challenge your Will.
At Glanvilles, you can consult one of our Solicitors in the Private Client team for tailored advice to suit your individual needs as well as in an office location that works best for you. Call one of our offices or email us at hello@glanvilles.co.uk.
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute, legal advice, and should not be relied upon as advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article. All content was correct at the time of publishing. Legal advice should always be sought in relation to specific circumstances.