When Theres A Will Theres A Way
If you choose not to write a last will and testament, then who determines who acquires what? Things wont turn out the way you would have preferred. To make sure your desires are adhered to, you should to construct a last will and testament.
If you pass away without creating a will it’s the state that dictates how your assets is divided. The intestacy laws are applied and it could not be how you will have expected or wanted.
If you are legally married or have a civil partner but are without offspring and your property is worth a set threshold or under then your legal partner will receive the entirety of the estate including any life assurance . If the assets is valued at more than this figure and you have surviving relatives, your partner will still receive this figure, plus 50% of the surplus. There is an priority in which relatives would inherit, with existing parents being at the top of the list, followed by siblings and so on.
Should you have a spouse and children then your partner will gain the set amount as above and half of the excess. The offspring would receive half of the sum over the threshold right away and the other half on the death of your spouse.
Should you have offspring but no legal partner, then your offspring would divide the inheritance. This might not be what you’d have expected. You could have a companion who relies on you and who you might have intended to obtain at least part of your assets, who would receive nothing.
To eschew all possible anxiety about your property, regardless of how basic it may seem, you should draw up a last will and testament. There are various ways to do this. You may construct it on your own or hire a skilled will agent or a solicitor.
Often people write their own will, generally using a form which you can acquire from stationers. Take care should you proceed along this path – it’s very easy to make a mistake and you could even find it void. The price of having a will constructed, especially a somewhat straightforward one, is not prohibitive and you can be confident that your intentions will be realised.
A trained will service or a solicitor will be used to dealing with all types of questions and will be able to aid you. There could be questions regarding starting trusts and perhaps inheritance tax.
Having drawn up your will, it’s a sensible idea to review it periodically, as your situation changes. If you conclude to amend it, then it’s prudent to revoke your existing one and have it redone. If the amendments are minor, it may be simpler to draw up a codicil to make a part of the last will and testament and to be used in conjunction with it. Any codicil will have to be constructed in the same way as the will in regards to signatures and witnesses.
Please be aware that any health cover will terminate on the death of the will holder and no value will be attributed to It in the will.
