What's the benefit of getting a Will?

There are several important benefits for making a Will, including being able to choose who inherits your money, property and possessions. Known as your ‘estate’, certain changes in circumstances can have a significant impact such as disinheritance in blended families. If you have remarried, children from past relationships could be prevented from inheriting from you as marriage automatically revokes a Will. We explain various reasons for making a Will.

Why are Wills important?

There are several benefits for having a legally valid Will is important – please see below:

• Control over who inherits your estate rather than defaulting to legal ‘intestacy’ rules that decide which descendants (if any) should inherit.

  
  

• Provides for unmarried partners along with stepchildren and friends, who otherwise might not receive anything. You can also include charities in your Will.

  
  

• You can choose your executors to manage your assets efficiently, instead of relying on the Crown to decide who gets what from your estate.

  
  

• Choice of funeral – usually included in your Letter of Wishes, you can state your preference such as a burial or a cremation.

  
  

• Guardians can be appointed for children under 18. It’s important to consider what would happen if you and your spouse died before your children reached adulthood.

  
  

• Inheritance tax may reduce for your family through careful planning – for example, using trusts, inheritance tax allowances and gifting strategies.

  
  

• Probate may be faster - as well as speeding up the process, a legally valid Will also reduces the risk of any potential family disputes.

Marriage, divorce, and Wills

Marriage automatically revokes an existing Will, unless it has been made ‘in contemplation of marriage’. Conversely, divorce does not automatically revoke a Will. Although after a divorce, an ex-spouse is treated as if they have died, this can create unintended gaps. If you were to remarry or begin a new civil partnership, this can change who ultimately inherits.

Before you write a Will, there are some practical considerations. You will need to make a list of all your solely owned and shared assets, such as property, savings, pensions, and any business interests. If you have jointly owned property, then check if this is held as joint tenants or tenants in common, as there are implications upon death.

If you have children under the age of 18 or you have other long-term dependants, you will need to decide who will make suitable guardians. Similarly, choose reliable executors (and identify some potential backups) to ensure your estate is managed efficiently after your death.

Many couples choose Mirror Wills. However, they do not guarantee protection after the first death as the Will can still be altered. In some case, trusts are used in conjunction with a Will to enable more spousal security regarding children’s inheritance.

Disinheritance for blended families

As marriage automatically revokes an existing Will, children from previous relationships can be unintentionally disinherited. Stepchildren are also not automatically entitled to inherit. There have been cases where a deceased’s assets pass entirely to a surviving spouse, which are then inherited later by their own children.

If the spouse remarries or rewrites their own Will, children from earlier marriages might not receive anything. As an example, a remarried parent has two children from a first marriage and dies without a Will. Their new spouse inherits most or all of the estate.

A legal Will helps to safeguard children in blended families, especially if you’re unmarried and cohabiting (there’s no such thing as a “common law marriage”). For more information, please read our blog Why you should update your Will.

What happens if you die without a Will?

When you die without a Will, your estate is distributed according to the strict legal rules of intestacy, instead of your personal wishes. Your married or civil partner will usually inherit most of what you own, but not necessarily everything if there are children.

In most cases, children only inherit when they reach 18 with assets placed in trust and managed until they come of age. Unmarried partners are not legally entitled to receive anything unless they are named in a Will, regardless of the length of relationship. For more guidance, please read our blog What happens if you don’t make a Will?

Will Writing Solicitors in Leicester

There are several important benefits of making a Will, from preventing future inheritance issues to choosing who inherits from you. Review your Will each year to make sure it still reflects your current circumstances. Update it as soon as you have remarried, divorced, moved house, or if there’s a new baby in the family. If you have any concerns around your estate, Will planning or possible disinheritance, always discuss with a qualified solicitor.

At Salusbury, Harding & Barlow, our Wills, Trusts and Probate solicitors will help you write a legally binding Will. By providing sympathetic and caring advice, we will ensure that your estate goes to the people you choose. We will explain everything clearly in plain English.

If you need to make or update a Will, please get in touch or email: lbacon@shbsolicitors.co.uk to arrange a face-to-face or telephone appointment.