| |
Why do I
need to make a Will?
What happens If I don't make
a Will?
What can I say in a Will?
What can't I leave in a Will?
What about jointly owned
property?
What is a mirror Will?
What about gay or lesbian
couples?
What is an executor?
What is a guardian?
Where should I keep my Will?
What if someone I
leave a gift to in my Will dies?
Who can dispute a Will?
When should I review my Will?
Will inheritance tax be
payable?
Why do I need to make a Will?
Because making a Will enables you to
choose exactly what happens to all of your assets by specifying how these are
to be distributed after you have died. Making a Will
also gives you the peace of mind knowing that you have yourself chosen who gets
what and it considerably simplifies the required formalities and reduces costs
at a very stressful time for your family.
Finally if you have any children making a Will
enables you to appoint guardians to look after them in the event of your death
(if the other parent is unable to do so).
Top
What happens if I don't make a Will?
If you don't make a Will your estate
(i.e. your personal belongings, property, savings etc.) will be distributed to
your next of kin after the payment of any debts according to the laws of
intestacy regardless of your personal wishes and/or your relationship to that
person at the time of your death. This could mean that your spouse might not
receive the whole of your estate, or an unmarried partner might not receive
anything, and/or you might be liable to unnecessary tax.
To see a chart showing how assets and belongings are distributed according to
the laws of intestacy click here
Top
What can I say in a Will?
When you make a Will you can say how
you would like your financial affairs to be dealt with after your death. You
can also add any personal comments and if you wish, choose whether you want to
be buried or cremated. You can decide if you would like a formal service and if
so specify where it should be held. You can also choose if there should be a
sermon or any particular hymns. Your Will does not have to be a long and
complex document and it should always be as clear and simple to understand as
possible.
Top
What can't I leave in a Will?
It may seem obvious but you can't leave anything in a Will that you don't own!
Usually this includes 3 main categories:-
1. PROPERTY
If you jointly own property with someone else as joint tenants then upon your
death your share automatically goes to the surviving co-owner. It does not
therefore form part of your estate and cannot be left to anyone in a Will.
However if you hold the property jointly with someone else as tenants in common
your share will not automatically pass to the other person when you die and you
can therefore leave it in a Will to whoever you wish.
2. LIFE POLICIES
If you have a life insurance policy it will usually be drawn up on trust for
someone else so it will not therefore become part of your estate when you die.
For this reason you do not need to mention it in a Will.
3. PENSIONS
In exactly the same way as any life policies pension rights may also pass
outside a Will (or end on your death) so they do not need to be mentioned
either.
Top
What about jointly owned property?
Many people don't realise that if they own property (i.e. land/buildings
jointly with someone else as "joint tenants" (e.g. most married couples own
jointly owned property as joint tenants) then their "share" of that property
automatically passes to the other person upon death and does not form part of
his or her estate. There is therefore no need to make any mention of that
"share" of a property in a Will nor any purpose in doing so.
However, if you own a share of a property as "tenants in common" (e.g. this is
more likely in the case of an unmarried couple) then you can leave your share
of that property to whoever you want in a Will (e.g. to the other co-owner). If
you are in any doubt as to how your property is owned and/or you want to change
the way that you own it you must seek legal advice without a valid Will it can
take months or sometimes even years to sort out your affairs and in the
meantime your surviving dependants (either a spouse or a partner or a child)
have all the usual household expenses and possibly no access to any money
because all of your income may be frozen until everything has been sorted out.
If you have left a Will it shouldn't take more than two or three months at most
to sort everything out and for your executors to release your assets to the
people of your choice.
Top
What is a mirror Will?
A mirror Will is when a husband, wife or partner make almost identical Wills
leaving everything to each other if one of them dies and then if they both die
together to their children (if any) or, if there are no children then to
someone else.
Technically there is no such thing as "a joint Will" - there must be two
completely separate legal documents although they will both have very similar
contents that "mirror" each other.
Top
What
about gay or lesbian couples?
It is particularly important for gay or lesbian couples to make a Will because
only married people are recognised as "couples" under the present law. Gay
partners have no legal standing no matter how long they have lived together so
unless they each make a Will setting
out their wishes their assets will not go to each other but will automatically
pass to the surviving members of their family (i.e. brother/sisters or parents)
under the rules of intestacy.
The Easier Wills programme has been designed to be used equally by either
married or unmarried or gay or lesbian couples.
Top
What
is an executor?
Your executors are the people who will deal with your estate after your death.
They will collect in your assets, pay all your debts and any inheritance tax,
deal with any specific legacies that you have left and then distribute the
remainder of your estate in accordance with your wishes.
If you have any children they will also act as trustees to look after monies
until they are old enough to inherit and they will also be able to use the
trust money to help support them in the meantime.
You can appoint up to four executors including one of the beneficiaries e.g.
your spouse/partner (it is common for a Will to appoint a main beneficiary as
an executor). If you appoint your spouse/partner they can act on their own
(with reserves appointed to act if they die before you) or jointly with another
person or persons
We recommend that you appoint at least two executors in case one of them is
unable to act for whatever reason.
Make sure that your chosen executors are prepared to act because they cannot be
forced to do so.
When your Will is completed it should be kept in a safe place and you must tell
your executors where it is stored.
Top
What is a guardian?
When making a Will you need to
consider who should be the guardians of any children under the age of 18 years
who may survive you. Usually the appointment of a guardian or guardians takes
effect on the death of the second parent.
The duties of a guardian are similar to those of a parent. They are responsible
for the day to day upbringing of your child as if he/she was their own.
Normally it is best to appoint 2 members of your family as your guardians who
are living together in a stable relationship but if the children are grown up
it may, depending upon your own personal circumstances, be more appropriate to
appoint close friends.
Don't worry about leaving any money to the guardians for the purpose of
enabling them to carry out their duties. Your executors (who should not be the
same as the guardians) will be able to authorise the use of any monies that you
have left to the children for their benefit until they are old enough to
inherit.
Finally when you make a Will don't
forget to tell the proposed guardian of your intention to appoint them to
ensure that they are willing to take on the responsibility of looking after
your children if this becomes necessary.
Top
Where should I keep my Will?
There is no formal requirement as to where a Will should be stored but
obviously it should be kept in a safe place that is easily accessible.
For your peace of mind Easier wills can store your original Will securely for a
nominal fee of £20.00 per annum (payable by standing order) if you would like
to proceed with this please click here.
It is not advisable to keep a Will in a safety deposit box because after your
death your executors will not be able to open that box without obtaining a
Court Order.
You should always make a copy of your Will (which should clearly be marked
"copy" on all pages) and make a note on the copy where the original is kept.
Finally tell your executors where you have kept your Will and give them a
letter of instruction regarding any matters that you do not wish to include in
your Will (but do not staple or attach this to the Will in any way)
Top
What if someone I leave a
gift to in my Will dies?
If when making a Will you leave a gift
of an item or money to someone who then dies before you that gift goes back
into your estate as if it had not been left to anyone in the first place.
If they die before they receive their legacy but survive you by more than 30
days then they will receive their gift posthumously and it will then form part
of their estate.
However if someone who you leave a gift to fails to survive you by more than 30
days then their share is divided among the other beneficiaries in the same
proportion to each other as before.
Top
Who
can dispute a Will?
Very few Wills are ever disputed but a spouse, former spouse, child,
grandchild, parent and "common law husband/wife" may all be able to make a
claim if they believe that they are entitled to more, or that they were omitted
without reason, or that your wishes have been misinterpreted or misunderstood.
If you omit any of the above without a clause giving your reasons either in the
Will itself or in a signed statement that you give to your executors a Court
might decide that their omission was an unintentional oversight.
To get a Will invalidated for any other reason someone would have to go to
Court to prove:
a) that you were of unsound mind or,
b) you were unduly influenced by someone else or,
c) your signature was forged or,
d) the Will has been altered or tampered with in some way.
To prevent any disputes always try to make sure that a Will is clearly written,
that it is not ambiguous in any way and that your wishes are clear and concise.
Top
When
should I review my Will?
Generally you should review your Will every time a "life event" happens. For
example if you separate from your spouse or partner, if you have a child, if
there is a death in your family, if there is a change in your financial
circumstances, if there are changes in the types or rates of taxation, or if
you are going to live abroad.
In particular it is important to know that you should make a new Will if you
marry or remarry because any previous Will is then automatically revoked unless
it contains a clause that says it is being made in contemplation of marriage
(the Easier Wills programme offers this option). Although getting divorced does
not automatically revoke a Will any clause that refers to a former spouse will
no longer be valid and if he or she is named as an executor then they will not
be allowed to act.
For all of the above reasons Easier wills has made it simple for you to update
your Will at any time in the future. All of the information contained in your
most recent Will is always securely stored on our site so with your own
username and password (and for a nominal fee) you can easily make changes
(without having to go through the whole process) whenever you want.
Top
Will inheritance
tax be payable?
Any assets passed to a husband or wife are exempt and the first £285,000.00
of your estate (the Nil Rate Band) will also be free of inheritance tax but
everything above that figure will be taxed at 40% so, for example, if the net
value of your estate is £400,000.00 inheritance tax will be payable on £125,000.00
(i.e. £50,000.00 tax)
When considering whether any inheritance tax will be payable on your estate you
should add up all of your assets e.g. property, savings, stocks and shares,
premium bonds etc. and then deduct any liabilities e.g. mortgage, credit cards,
loans etc.
Remember not to include anything that will not form part of your estate e.g.
property held jointly with someone else as joint tenants and usually any life
policies and pensions.
If your net estate is more than £285,000.00 tax will also be payable on any
gifts (exceeding more than £3000 in total in any tax year) made within 7 years
of your death but again this does not include anything given to your spouse.
It is important to know that all gifts to a registered charity are tax free and
there are also tax allowances for some gifts of agricultural or business
interests.
Important
(A) A married couple with sufficient assets can save a considerable amount of
tax by both setting up in their Wills a Discretionary Trust of a sum of money
equivalent to the Nil Rate Band personal tax allowance in favour of their
spouse and children.
(B) Anyone else who thinks their taxable estate will exceed £285,000.00 should
consider Inheritance Tax Planning.
If either of the above apply to you a simple online Will prepared by Easier
wills may not be suitable and you should consider instructing us to prepare a
more tax efficient Will on your behalf. If you would like us to call you back
to arrange for someone to contact you to discuss this please
click here.
Top
Use Easier wills to make a Will and stay in control.
|
