Wills Protect What Matters Most
If you choose not to draw up a last will and testament, then who decides who receives what? It wont proceed how you would have intended. To ensure your preferences are adhered to, you need to make a last will and testament.
Should you perish without without leaving your will in trust it’s the crown that dictates how your property is divided. The intestacy rules are applied and it may not be how you will have hoped or wanted.
If you are legally married or have a civil partner but no offspring and your estate is worth a specific amount or less then your legal partner would get the entirety of the property including any life insurance . If the assets is valued greater than this amount and you have existing relatives, your partner would still get this figure, plus 50% of the surplus. There is an order in which relatives would inherit, with surviving parents being at the start of the list, followed by siblings and so on.
Should you have a civil partner and children then your spouse will gain the specific amount as above and half of the remainder. The descendants will receive half of the sum over the threshold right away and the remaining 50% on the passing of your partner.
If you have children but no lawful spouse, then your children would divide the estate. This could not be what you’d have expected. You could have a partner who relies on you and who you will have wanted to obtain at least part of your property, who would receive nothing.
To remove all potential apprehension about your property, however basic it may appear, it would be wise to draw up a last will and testament. There are several ways to do this. You could write it on your own or use a skilled will service or a solicitor.
Many people build their own last will and testament, generally using a form which can acquire from the post office. Take care should you proceed down this path – it’s surprisingly simple to make a mistake and you could potentially find it void. The expense of having a will drawn up, especially a relatively basic one, is not excessive and you can be definite that your wishes will be carried out.
A professional will service or a solicitor will be experienced with handling all types of questions and will be able to assist you. You might have questions to do with setting up trust funds and perhaps inheritance tax.
Now you’ve constructed your will, it’s a sensible idea to review it from time to time, as circumstances change. If you decide to change it, then it’s sensible to nullify your existing one and have it re-written. If the amendments are minimal, it may be more straight forward to construct a codicil to form a section of the will and to be read in conjunction with it. Any codicil will have to be drawn up in the same method as the will in regards to signatures and witnesses.
Please be aware that any health insurance will terminate on the death of the will holder and no value will be attributed to It in the will.
