In the UK, approximately 70% of all adults do
not have a Will. At the point of death 50% have no Will. Writing
a Will is an expression of an individual’s wishes and allows
people to state how they wish their estate to be distributed after
death.
To die without writing a Will is to die Intestate.
A written Will is one of the most important Legal documents that
a person ever prepares. Writing a Will can help protect your property
from long-term care costs and appoint Guardians for minor children.
Writing a Will can help ensure that your spouse, children, family,
friends or your chosen charity are provided for.
If you do not write a Will, the government effectively
writes a Will for you and it can take up to two years to sort
out your affairs. Your estate may well not end up where you expect
or wish.
Writing your Will brings security and peace
of mind not just for you but for those you care about.
You can now achieve this in a straightforward,
jargon-free way in the comfort of your own home.
Who Should Write
A Will?
Anyone aged 18 or above should write a Will
but in particular:-
- Anyone who is married (In English
Law, marriage or a Civil Ceremony automatically revokes any Will
in place)
- Anyone living together as partners (in Will Law,
no personal asset passes to a partner after death if there is
no Will in place)
- Anyone with children (A Will is the best place
to appoint Guardians for minor children and the best way of securing
inheritance for older children)
- Any relationship where there are stepchildren (stepchildren
run a high risk of not inheriting without well constructed Wills
in place)
- Any widow or widower
- Anyone separated but not yet divorced (Everything
is likely to go to your spouse if you pass away without a Will)
- Anyone with a disabled child or close relative
- Anyone who is approaching retirement or who has
retired (If applicable, a Protective Trust Will can help save
your house from long term care costs)
- Anyone who is divorced (Divorce can affect an existing
Will)
- Anyone who is single
- Anyone who would like to leave a gift (known as
a legacy) to another person or to a charity
- Anyone who wishes to outline their funeral arrangements
Standard Wills
These cover everything you would expect including:-
- Who you would like to leave your estate to
- Who you would like to act as Executor(s) of your
Will
- Any gifts (legacies ) you would like to leave
- Nominate Guardians for any minor children
- Detail your funeral arrangements (if you so wish)
Standard Wills are sometimes known as mirror
Wills (when two people create similar documents) but please note
that each person has their own Will.
Protective Trust
Wills
The Property Protection Trust Will contains
everything described above in Standard Wills but with extra clauses
which benefit some people. It is particularly suitable for married,
unmarried and same sex couples (who own their home) in the following
circumstances:
- Mature couples concerned about losing their home
to pay for care fees
- Couples where one or both partners have children
from previous relationships
- Couples who individually wish
to ensure the inheritance of their children (or others) without
forcing their partner to sell their home
In the UK nearly a million people
were living in nursing, residential or long term hospital care
in 2005. Women have a one-in-four chance of needing long term
care, and men a one-in-six chance.
Your home could be under real threat
if you have to go into care and your partner has already passed
away. It is estimated that 70,000 homes are forcibly sold each
year (200 per day) to pay for care fees, meaning that the relatives
of those people will not now be able to inherit the family home
or the proceeds from the sale of the property.
The Property Protection Trust Will
has been specially designed to protect part or all of your home
against care fees in certain circumstances.
A Property Protection Trust Will
can also be beneficial for young couples, couples with a significant
age difference and couples who have children from a previous relationship.
Should one partner (e.g. the older) die, there is a possibility
that the surviving partner may remarry or co-habit and have more
children. If so, how can the original partner ensure that his/her
children will inherit his/her share of the property? The answer
to this delicate matter is to make a Property Protection Trust
Will, leaving his/her share of the house to his/her children in
a Trust. They will then be certain to inherit their parent's legacy
on the death of the second partner.
A Property Protection Trust Will is only available for couples.
If you are single or divorced or widowed and losing your home
to pay for care fees is a concern to you, other options may be
available.
Living Wills (Also know
as Advance Directive)
Should you ever end up on a life support machine and in the opinion
of two independent medical consultants, you are unlikely to recover,
this document expresses your wish that the life support machine
should be switched off.
A Living Will is recognised by the British Medical
Association.
A great benefit of having
a Living Will in place is that your loved ones know your wishes
and are not left to make what can be a very difficult decision
for them without knowing your feelings.
Children’s
/ Grandchildren’s Trusts Children’s Trusts
Children’s / Grandchildren’s
trust funds allow your nominated trustees to take care of your
children’s or grandchildren’s needs until they have
reached maturity! You can decide at which age they inherit –
up to the age of 25.
Trustees have access
to the Child’s Trust Funds and apply them to assist the
beneficiaries, for example; to pay for education costs, a car,
a deposit for their first property etc. In other words, to do
what the parents would have done, had they still been alive.
Disabled Person’s Trust
This is similar to a
Children’s Trust in that it allows trustees to attend to
the needs and handle matters on account of a disabled person.
Any Statutory Disability
Benefits due to the disabled person concerned are not affected
by any monies held within the disabled persons trust.
A WELL DRAFTED WILL CAN
HELP PROTECT THOSE YOU LOVE.
NO-ONE KNOWS WHAT IS COMING IN
LIFE – SO PLEASE DO NOT DELAY.
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