Wills | Jan Cook Wills and Trusts

WHY DO I NEED A WILL?

You cannot be sure that those you would wish to beneﬁt will actually do so.
Your spouse/civil partner will not automatically inherit ALL of your estate.
"Common Law" partners may not receive anything.
Minor children could be taken into care whilst guardians are appointed.
There could be disputes which may mean lengthy delays for your beneﬁciaries.

The vast majority of people put off making a Will for a variety of reasons, either believing that the people they would wish to inherit will automatically do so, or because they don’t think it is relevant to them at that particular time. The reality is that you can put off making a Will until it is too late and this poses all sorts of problems for the people left behind and could mean that some, or all, of your inheritance either goes to the wrong person or to the State.

Affording you peace of mind

Firstly, and most importantly, is the peace of mind making a Will provides. Making a Will enables you to plan exactly what will happen to your property (estate) following your demise. This ensures that those you would like to beneﬁt actually do so, in accordance with your wishes, and at the same time avoiding any possible disputes between relatives.

Who needs to make a Will?

The answer is everyone. In particular, anyone with dependant relatives; (children under the age of 18, elderly relatives or relatives with a disability who have special needs); anyone who owns property or has any type of asset which they would wish relatives, friends or charities to beneﬁt from.

But won’t everything go to my husband/ wife/civil partner/parents/children etc. automatically?

This is a common misconception and, dependent on the size of your estate, there are set rules which will be applied to determine who inherits, and how much, if you do not make a Will.

So what happens if I don’t make a Will?

This is called having died intestate. There are speciﬁc rules of intestacy which set out who will inherit and by how much if you do not leave a valid Will. This may not be what you would have wished and, in the worst case scenarios where relatives cannot be traced, your assets could be taken by the Crown.