Evans + Webb - Solicitors

Wills

A Will is a document which sets out how you wish your property and other items you own to be dealt with after you have died. Your wishes are carried out by Executors who you choose and appoint. Planning for one's death may not be pleasant, but for your beneficiaries it is a necessary duty It is often understood between family members that a certain person will have a favourite vase or that a particular piece of furniture should go to the eldest child, but this may not be what actually happens in practice. The only way to ensure that no -one can argue with your wishes is to put them in writing as a Will. If you are not married, but have a partner, it is even more important to make a Will, as your partner has no automatic right to receive assets from your estate.

Planning ahead for your death is not morbid, but is likely to help reduce the stress on your relatives at a time when they are least able to cope with additional stress.

If you have not made a Will and you die, then you are Intestate and the Intestacy Rules apply. Most people assume that their estate will still go their family. This may not be correct. Where there is a spouse and children, the spouse only receives the first £125,000.00. Half the remainder is available for the spouse for life and the rest goes to the children. An unmarried partner does not count as a spouse in this instance, however long you have been together. Intestacy rules may mean that your assets are split in a way that may not suit you. It is more sensible to direct all your estate to those who you wish to receive it.