By failing to put this fundamental document in place, around 70% of the population end up spending all their lives accumulating wealth (buying houses, investing and saving) only to see it potentially go to the wrong people or even the tax man.
Making a Will may not be glamorous but it is vital that you have one in order to safeguard your hard-earned assets and ensure that they pass to the right people when you die. A well-drafted Will means that your Estate will be dealt with as tax-efficiently as possible – leaving more to pass on to those you care about. Writing your will doesn’t need to be a chore. We make it a quick painless and cost effective experience.What’s more we’ll arrange to visit you at home or at work just to make things easier.
What Happens If You Die Without Having A Will?
Many people don’t make a Will because they assume that their ‘Estate’ (house, savings, personal belongings) will be passed automatically to those people they consider to be closest to them i.e. their partner, children, brothers or sisters.
Unfortunately this is not always the case and can cause many problems both financial and emotional.
The government has laid out the following guidelines which deal with the disposal of Estates (worth over £5000) where the person involved has died without a Will.
· Single Person with No ‘Blood Relatives’ - If you die without having any surviving parents, brothers, sister or other relatives your entire Estate (house, savings, investments etc) is dismantled and paid to the Government. Close friends and charities would inherit nothing unless you have a correctly drafted Will in place currently outlining your wishes in detail.
· Unmarried Couple Living Together - In the case of an unmarried couple who live together your surviving partner will not automatically inherit your assets - even if you have had children together. Husbands/Wives or ‘blood relatives’ are the only people who have automatic inheritance rights in the eyes of the law if you have not made a Will.
· Married Couple Without Children - If you’ve assumed that everything will pass to your surviving spouse then you might be in for a shock. Although they will inherit the vast majority of your Estate (£200,000, your personal effects and half of the balance of the Estate) a comparatively large amount (the remaining half of the balance of your Estate) can also be passed to your parents, brothers or sisters.
· Married Couple With Children - A Will is the only legal way you can appoint guardians for your children. If you don’t have one the courts will decide who looks after them (until they reach 18). As far a your estate is concerned, you might be under the impression that all your property and assets would naturally pass to your husband or wife. This is only true up to a point: Your spouse receives £125,000, your personal effects plus the interest from half of the balance of the Estate until death; the remaining half of the balance passes to your children.
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