What is a Will? A Will is a legal document outlining how you want your money, property and possessions, children and animals to be dealt with after your death.
Do I need a Will?
Our top 3 reasons why we recommend having a Will:
1. A Last Will and Testament allows you to ensure your wishes are met. Some families are estranged, but if you don’t have a Will, then who inherits what is dealt with via the rules of intestacy and may include people you don’t want to inherit. These rules split everything based on where you lived before your death (e.g England & Wales, or Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad). It also takes into account if you are legally married or have children.
2. Children – if you have young children what do you want to ensure they have (personal mementoes, access to medical information) and who shall be their guardians?
3. Pets – in the UK pets are deemed property. Are your pets adopted from a rescue? Does your adoption agreement specify that they are returned to the pet rescue in the event of death? Have you nominated pet guardians?
There are many online resources to buy or download free templates for your Will. Remember to add UK to your search term when looking online, e.g. free last will and testament UK and do your research before you choose one. Be careful, because Will writing is NOT regulated.
There are shops, like WH Smiths, that sell different Will packs and there is a great resource here for getting a free will.
When you write your Will, you can split your estate based on percentages, instead of actual monetary amounts, or even have a hybrid of percentages and actual gifts e.g. jewellery, pictures, books etc…
For more complicated estates, where perhaps you own instead of rent your property, own more than one property or have investments as well as savings then get advice on having a Will drawn up for you by a solicitor, as they are regulated.
If you marry or enter into a civil partnership, any Wills you make prior to marriage become null and void (useless). You need to write a new will after you get married for it to count. Otherwise everything will be split per intestacy rules.
