Statistics vary, but it is estimated that between 50 and 70% of adults in Britain have not written a Will. This is a frightening figure when you consider that almost every one of these people have an estate worth more than £5,000. (Your estate is the sum of everything you own at the time of your death, minus any amounts owing plus funeral and other death expenses.)
When you write a Will it ensures that your wishes regarding your estate are clearly and accurately laid out. It stops family arguments, financial hardship and, if you don't have any direct family, also ensures your assets go to the people or organisations you chose rather than to the government, also known as the Crown.
From this you can see it's well worth while spending a little time to familiarise yourself with some of the laws regarding making a Will, intestacy laws and inheritance tax - all of these will have an effect on what you write in your last Will and Testament.
Any person who dies without making a valid Will is known as dying Intestate. In the event that you die without a valid Will your estate is distributed according to the Laws of Intestacy. To ensure your estate is distributed in accordance with your wishes instead of how the Laws of Intestacy dictate it is vital that your wishes are recorded in a legally valid Will.
Our Laws of Intestacy page provides further information on the importance of ensuring your estate is distributed as you choose and shows how it would be distributed in the event that you die without a valid Will.
If your entire estate is valued at less than the Inheritance Tax (IHT) threshold level of £312,000, tax year 2009/2010, (the level is appraised annually) there will be no IHT to pay. However if your estate is valued above this figure, the proportion of the estate that is over this amount will be taxed at a staggering 40%.
By making a Will it is possible to minimise the amount of IHT to be paid. Our Inheritance Tax page provides more information on how this is possible and explains how IHT is calculated.
If you have specific wishes regarding medical treatment you need to write a living Will to ensure your family and the medical profession are clear about your desires. Items here could include information about what treatment and circumstances you would choose to have and not want to have, no matter how ill you were. This is important as Living Wills have to be taken into consideration by health professionals when conducting your treatment.
Writing a Will resolves these and other potential problems. In it you can determine what is to happen to personal items; for example you may own a family antique that you want to pass onto a particular relative, or equally you may want everything sold and the resultant monies distributed amongst all of your beneficiaries. Also worth considering is that if you have children under 18, you may want to put a provision in the Will that they don't inherit everything on their 18th birthday, but receive an income over a longer period of time. This is possible through Trusts and Trustees that allow you to say how your money is used after your death. This can be especially useful in the long-term care of handicapped children.
With professional and experienced advice you can relax knowing that your wishes are recorded on paper and will be carried out when you're gone.
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Over the years your circumstances may change. For this reason it is important to regularly check your Will to ensure it still reflects your wishes.
Our Changing a Will page lists various points to consider when reviewing a Will and provides information on how to update a Will should you decide it is out of date.