A Will makes it easier for your family and friends to administer your estate when you pass away.
Without having a Will in place it can be a more complex, time consuming, costly and stressful experience for your next of kin.
5 Reasons For Making A Will
You choose who administers your estate
By making a Will, you choose who your executors and trustees will be. Your chosen executors and trustees will be in charge of administering your estate, which will include applying for Probate, dealing with inheritance tax (if it is due), collecting in your estate and distributing your estate according to your Will.
You choose who benefits from your estate and in what shares
If you do not make a Will, everything that you own will be shared out in the standard way defined by the law. This is called dying intestate and your estate passes in a specific order to family members – this may not be to who you want or in the shares that you want.
You choose who will be the guardian of any minor children
If you’re a parent, you can use your Will to nominate a guardian for your minor children. The surviving parent will usually get sole legal custody if one parent dies. But if both parents pass, this is one of the most important reasons to have a Will.
A guardian will be responsible for all your children’s daily needs, including food, housing, health care, education, and clothing. And if you don’t nominate a guardian in your Will, a court will have to choose one for you. This could mean that someone you would not have chosen will be raising your children.
Lower the potential for family disputes
If you have complicated family dynamics, this is a very good reason to have a Will. By creating a Will through a Solicitor we can advise and include clauses in your Will to avoid ambiguity making it clear how your estate is to be distributed.
Keep your estate within the bloodline by using Trusts
If you want to ensure your estate stays within your bloodline you can do this by using trusts within your Will. The trust in your Will would allow your spouse to enjoy, for example, the residential home, during their lifetime, but the capital is reserved to go to your children when your spouse dies or re-marries. The advantage of doing this is that you are providing for your spouse during their lifetime, but you also have the certainty and peace of mind that that your asset will go down to your children and not passed in accordance with your spouse’s Will (which can be changed) or distributed elsewhere by your spouse during their lifetime.
If you would like to find out more about how Wills & Probate Services can help with your Will, please get in touch.
