Create a Will

Information Required for making your Will(s)

Once you have read this information through, you can add your own details to each section and send it back, that way, you won’t leave anything out.

The information I need is actually quite basic, but some aspects (some you might not even have considered) might need some thought.

1. Your FULL name(s) and date(s) of birth and your marital status

Single (never married) divorced, separated, married, widowed?

If you are engaged, do you have a date for you wedding? This can be included in your Wills and alleviates the necessity to re-write your Wills when you marry.

2. Your address

Including the post code and your home telephone number (land line).

3. Approximate value of your estate

Including life assurance policies, death in service benefit from work, value of your house (full value because most people’s mortgages are covered by life assurance), savings, anything and everything. If, once I see the value (if I suspect an Inheritance Tax issue for instance) I have any questions, I will call you.

4. Your executors/trustees

FULL names and addresses. (notes on duties attached)

These are the people who carry out your instructions in your Will, they act a bit like a ‘middle man’ between you and your beneficiaries. Your executors/trustees and your beneficiaries can be the same people (grown up children for instance). It is a common misunderstanding that executors cannot benefit from a Will. This is NOT true. It is WITNESSES who cannot benefit from a Will.

You can choose anyone you like, siblings, friends, parents (depending on their ages!), they simply need to be people on whom you know you can rely and trust. (Trustees!!)

If you are part of a couple, you would normally be each others first. You can have up to three more each (four in total). You can choose to be an executor on your own on the first death of the two of you or you can choose to do it jointly with the support of one or more of the other executors you have named. I personally believe that having support is best, but it’s your choice.

If you are single, then you should ideally choose a minimum of two (just in case!)

If you have children under the age of 18, you will also need to name someone as guardian(s). It’s a good idea to have them as one or more of your executor/trustees, they could then also be a Trustee (as in looking after your money) for your minor children until they attain the age of your choosing (18-21-25?). You might find you will want to choose new guardians as your children grow and their needs change. Choose who is best for them NOW. At what age would you want your children to have the money (your inheritance, which could be substantial) in their own hands? Up to the age you choose, they still have access to your inheritance, but it’s through their Trustee(s). At what age would you want to ‘let them loose‘?

5. Who do you leave your estate to?

If you are a couple, normally (but not necessarily) to each other. If you have children, it would normally go to them next and then to their children. If you haven’t got any children yet, but plan to have them in the future, we can include them now but of course they won’t be named.

What if you each have children from different marriages? Your estates (including your home) can be split to reflect this. See attachment Protective Will Trust – call me to explain.

What if you want to leave some of these children out? Call me to explain.

You don’t have to leave your estate in equal sized shares, it’s yours, you divide it as you like. Call me if you are unsure.

If you are single, do you have any children? If not, do you have siblings, good friends or favourite charities you would like to include?

6. Reserve Beneficiaries.

If you are in the situation where you and your beneficiaries could die at the same time (unthinkable I know), in a car accident for instance, then you need to name Reserve Beneficiaries. Don’t forget, this scenario is hugely unlikely, so don’t go getting upset, but we have to put someone. This is the place for relatives who wouldn’t normally expect to inherit but could maybe do with some help, or charities or anyone really. Remember again, the shares don’t have to be equal.

7. Personal possessions

Things like jewellery, ornaments, pictures, record collections.

These can be written a bit like a list within the Will stating quite simply who gets what. However, there’s another way. You can have a clause included called a Memorandum of Wishes. This, in basic terms, says to your executors/trustees, ‘If you find a letter with this Will, I would like you to do what I have asked in the letter’ This isn’t written in stone in the same way as it would if it was listed within the Will, but these people are your trustees, why wouldn’t they heed your wishes? The advantages of you writing a Wish letter (that’s what it is called) are these:- firstly it is much more personal and secondly, you can change your mind by simply destroying your old letter and writing a new one. You can write the letter anytime you like and if, when the time comes, there isn’t a letter, it doesn’t matter, your executors will simply follow your instructions in your Will. You need to decide the best option for you.

8. Actual amounts of money.

Leaving actual amounts can be dangerous and should only be done when you are totally confident that there will be enough money in your estate to satisfy the bequest(s) AND to leave enough to allow your other beneficiaries to inherit.

For example:- Someone might have £50,000 and they want to leave £5000 to charity and the balance (£45,000) is to be split between their two children. Many years pass in between them writing their Will and dying (isn’t that what we all wish for?). For whatever reason they have spent all of the money (care home fees, world cruise?) except for £7000. The charity gets their £5000 and the two children get £1000 each. Do you think that’s what the person would have wanted?

If a couple want to leave monetary bequests they are ALWAYS left to be distributed on second death (unless they are very wealthy!), because after the first death, the surviving spouse/partner may need the money themselves or might not even have it to give.

An alternative to leaving actual amounts is to leave small shares instead, that way, no-one misses out.

9. Funeral Requests.

This doesn’t have to go in at all if you don’t want it to. However, funerals and marriages cause arguments!!! If you do have a preference, you should make it known to your loved ones/executors. Your choice and or wishes can be written into your Will, or you can include them in your Wish Letter or if you feel really strongly about it, you should buy a Funeral Plan.

The advantages of a Funeral Plan are that you pay for it NOW (lump sum or monthly). If you live for another 30, 40, 50 years, the only extra your executors have to pay are disbursement charges (fees to a church for example), your actual funeral is paid for. The cost has increased substantially in the past few years so a plan can save a sizeable amount for your beneficiaries.

Call or email me for information on Funeral Plans.

If you are unsure about ANYTHING AT ALL, please call me on 01780 781267

Once I have your information I will look to see what type of Will would best suit your purposes. It might be a very straight forward, simple Will. You might need more protection than this can offer. I will email you back, explain in full my suggestions and give you a breakdown of the costs. It’s then up to you if you want to proceed with me. I charge just £45 for a single Will (£90 if there are two of you). I would just like to point out that ALL of my charges are a fraction of what you would pay a solicitor.