Firstly, everyone over the age of 18 has a Will! One where you decide how you would like to leave your estate and one where the Court decides (known as dying Intestate). Now, I know which one I would rather have – what about you?
An objection we hear too often is “I am too young to write a Will”
How many celebrities do we know, this year alone, that have unfortunately passed away too young and without a Will?
To name a couple…
- Caroline Flack
- Chadwick Boseman
Do you think they were really aware of the importance of creating a Will, where they got to decide exactly who would inherit their wealth? As recently communicated in the news – Caroline Flack, dying without a Will and no spouse or immediate dependents has meant her parents will inherit her estate after liabilities have been met! They now have to go through a more drawn out process to release the value of the estate and then attempt to honour what Caroline through their own estate planning! Had Caroline just made a Will this would all have been avoided and her parents would know exactly what she wanted to do with her estate. Now they are second guessing!
Another objection is “I don’t have time” How long do you think it will take to work through the practicalities of how you would like to distribute your estate? At Heritage Estate Planning, we meet initially for a no obligation “chat” to understand what you are looking to obtain from writing your Will. We then book a further appointment where we take your instructions (this takes around an hour) and the rest of the work is done by us! All you then need to do is approve the legal document and have it officially executed. So maybe all in all a couple of hours – now who can’t spare a couple of hours to put their finances in order?
People believe that, if they die without a Will, it will just go to the partner! In some cases that may be true but a lot of the time unfortunately it isn’t! If you are married with children and have sole assets greater than £270K (as at current law) your surviving spouse will only receive the first £270K (known as Statutory Legacy). The remaining money will be split – 50% to your surviving spouse and the remainder shared equally between your children. Is that what you would have wanted?
If you have children and both parents with parental responsibility have passed away, who are you expecting to take care of them? Without a Will they will become part of Social Services (at least initially) and could potentially end up in Foster Care – is that what you would have wanted?
Also, there is a belief that “common law partners” will inherit the same as married/civil partnership couples. That is definitely not the case! If you are living with someone and do not have a legal marriage/civil partnership, then your surviving partner will be entitled to nothing! They may have a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 but there is no guarantee they would be successful!
If you die Intestate there is a “pecking” order that is set out by the Court on how an estate is distributed and this is very “cut and dry”. Just spending a couple of hours with one of our professional Will Writing Consultants can save a lot of time and heartache for your family!
At Heritage Estate Planning, we work with you to ensure your wishes are granted, so if you would like to know more please contact us here for a no obligation consultation…
