What is a Will?
A Will is a legal document that allows you to specify who should benefit from your property, money and possessions after you’ve died. It’s very important that the wording used in your Will is clear and legally effective.
Do I need a Will?
If you die without a Will in England or Wales the law will decide who gets what. If you have no living family members, all your possessions and property will go to the Crown.
What are Executors of a Will?
Executors are the people you name in your Will to carry out your wishes after you die. They will be responsible for all aspects of sorting your affairs after you’ve passed away such as notifying people that you have died, arranging your funeral, dealing with any tax bills, paying debt, collating information about your assets and liabilities and then distributing your estate to your chosen beneficiaries.
What If I have Young Children?
When creating a Will, one of the first thing to consider is Guardianship of your children. If you currently have Parental Responsibility over your children and they are under 18 years old, then you can include in your Will the appointment of a Guardian to look after your children whilst they are under 18 years old. This takes effect only if there is no one else with parental responsibility over your children when you pass away. The importance of appointing a Guardian is one of the main reasons why parents make sure they have a valid Will in place.
You can also include your children as beneficiaries in your Will even though they are very young. When this occurs it is sensible to consider the age you would like your children to reach before being able to access their inheritance, typical ages are 18, 21 or 25. Whilst the child is under that age then their inheritance is managed on their behalf by people called Trustees. These are people that can also be appointed in your will.
Where Do I Keep My Will Documents?
We offer a service to store the original Will that you write with us
Can an Executor of a Will also be a beneficiary?
Yes they can. There is no reason why any family member, friend or anyone else benefiting from your Will cannot be an Executor, as long as they are over 18 years old. Perhaps a more important question to ask is, are they willing and able to be an Executor?
Can any of my beneficiaries be a witness when I am making my Will?
No. A beneficiary in your Will should not be a witness to you signing it. The spouse or civil partner of the beneficiary should not be a witness either. If they do witness your Will, they will be disinherited.
Can I nominate TLP Solicitors to be my Executor?
Yes you can. We offer a Professional Executor Service. This is a popular option with people who don’t want their loved ones to have to deal with all the legal and financial responsibilities of dealing with your Estate after you have gone.
There is no charge to name us as an Executor in your Will. If we do act as Executor after you pass away, there is a fixed fee cost which is agreed with your beneficiaries, before carrying out the work involved.
Our fixed fee cost is calculated when you die and is based on the value and complexity of your Estate.
What happens to my Will when I die?
We recommend that you tell your Executor where your Will is kept. You may want to give them a copy of your Will whilst you are able. When you die, your Executor will need to locate your original Will.
If your Will is held by us then your Executor will need to contact us to inform us that you have passed away. We can then arrange to get your original Will out of our big safe storage facility.
Once we have your Will back, we will confirm the identity of the Executor. We will then offer free help and guidance to make sure they know what their responsibilities are, and offer our professional assistance if needed.
Can my Will be challenged?
Yes – all Wills can be challenged. Nothing can prevent someone from trying to invalidate it. The real question is ‘Can my Will be successfully challenged?’ and this really does depend.
If your Will includes your nearest relatives and dependents such as your husband, wife or civil partner and your children, there is little reason why your Will should be challenged. But, if you exclude someone who might expect to benefit from your Will, or there is a suggestion that you do not have mental capacity or have been influenced or coerced whilst making your Will, then there is a real possibility your Will could be challenged.
You can try to avoid any disharmony by talking to your family and loved ones about your Will. This is particularly important if you are going to exclude them. This prevents questions about your motivation after you’ve died. Alternatively, you could write a letter to your Executors which sets out the reasons why you’ve excluded a particular person from the Will. This letter can be stored with your Will.
Can I use my Will to protect against care fees?
It’s possible. If you are a couple, you may be able to protect all or part of your Estate by using a Trust in your Will. It is a specialised area and is vital you get professional Will Writing advice to ensure it is appropriate for your circumstances.
Is one witness signature enough?
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland one witness is not enough. You need to have two witnesses who are over 18. In Scotland, only one witness who should be over 16 is needed.
Can the witnesses to my Will be husband and wife?
In England & Wales you need two witnesses (in Scotland, only one is required) who should be over 18 (or 16 in Scotland) and preferably neither very old nor hard to trace. There is no reason why the witnesses should not be married to each other. However, it is vital that the witnesses to your Will are neither beneficiaries under the Will nor the spouses of beneficiaries. If a beneficiary or his or her spouse does witness your Will, the beneficiary will lose the benefit of his or her gift, but the Will remains valid.
What are trustees?
Trustees are usually the same people as your executors, but they are the people/organisation you appoint to look after the assets in the trust for the benefit of the beneficiaries.
Will I automatically inherit my partner’s estate when they die?
No, so you should both be making a will immediately. If your partner dies without making a will their estate will be distributed among their blood relatives in accordance with the rules of intestacy. If you are not married or in a civil partnership (a.k.a. cohabiting) you may well not be entitled to any of their estate.
I’ve already made a will but I want to change my will. Should I just add the changes to the will I’ve made?
No. You shouldn’t change your will by altering a will that you’ve already made. The best way to update your will is to simply make a new will, and include the fact that all previous versions of your will are cancelled. It’s actually a good idea to destroy all the copies of your old will, just to make sure, once you have completed making your new will.
What is a ‘residuary estate’?
Once you have made gifts of specific property and/or sums of money to particular people in your Will, the items or money that you don’t specifically allocate will form the ‘residue’ of your estate and you must decide who is to receive this.
Do witnesses need to know the content of the Will?
The witnesses do not need to know the content of the Will.
My partner has already made a will. Should I be making a will too?
Yes. Both you and your partner should make a will, even if most of your property is in one person’s name. Making a will allows you to name your spouse as the person who will benefit from your property if you die, and in your will you can decide where your property should go if your spouse dies before you. If you are not married but are cohabiting (living together as an unmarried couple) it is even more crucial that you both make a will. There is no automatic entitlement that your partner will receive any of your money or possessions if you have not made a will.