Making A Will

Making a Will will not kill you! - but what will happen if you don't make one?

Despite many people's fears, there is no statistical evidence that making a will is likely to lead to you being knocked over by a bus as you leave your solicitor's office! Yet surprisingly only one in three adults in Britain has a will!!

You may assume that everything you own at your death will go to your husband, wife or partner, or perhaps you believe you have nothing to leave anyway. The fact is, without a will, the Intestacy Rules say who gets what and your property would most certainly not go to those who you wish to receive it. Your friends and favourite charities get nothing. You may be surprised to know that if you die leaving a spouse and children your surviving husband or wife would only inherit your personal effects, and £125,000 outright. The balance of your estate would then be held in trust, half for your surviving spouse for life with the balance for your children. For example:

Mr and Mrs Jones were involved in a tragic accident in which Mr Jones died instantly. Mrs Jones survived only to die in hospital a week later without regaining consciousness. They had no children and had failed to make wills. Under the intestacy rules Mrs Jones inherited her husband's estate, which on her subsequent death passed entirely to her brother and sister. Mr Jones's family felt very unfairly treated.

If you are unmarried your partner has no entitlement in law to any part of your estate which would pass entirely to your family: brothers and sisters, parents or more distant relatives.

What exactly is a Will?

A Will is a statement of your wishes, to take effect on your death, which remains changeable until then. In a Will you are exercising choice over who gets what and a variety of other matters e.g. appointing executors, trustees and guardians, tax considerations and directions for burial.

If you care about who benefits from your property after your death you MUST make a Will.

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The articles on legal topics published in these pages are for interest only and are necessarily general in their terms. You should not act (or refrain from acting) on the basis of the information given without specific advice, as the principles and laws concerned may change, and their application will vary according to the particular circumstances.