WILLS

A Will is a document expressing your wishes as to what will happen to your assets on your death.  A Will is the only method to legally ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. 

This is the only way to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death.  Making a Will lets your loved ones know that you cared enough to sort things out in advance.  People making Wills have different priorities – some people’s main aim is to protect their wealth, for others their main concern is appointing guardians for their children.

Without a valid Will, your assets would be distributed according to the Government “Rules of Intestacy”.  This may not be what you would have wished.  Your estate will not necessarily pass to your spouse or partner after your death. 

An unmarried partner will be entitled to nothing, and even a spouse or civil partner may not inherit enough to maintain their lifestyle. 

If there are no valid people to inherit, your whole estate will go to the government. 

Some Will writing companies are happy to take instructions in this way – however at Steadfast Wills we prefer to see clients face to face, unless there are special circumstances (such as an existing client who has moved away from the Fleet area).  We find that this makes communication easier & more relaxed – and many clients tell us that they also prefer it.  It also means that the Will writer can more accurately record exactly who is present for the discussion.  This might be important in the future, if the Will is challenged after your death. 

It is really important that we know (& can report afterwards) that we are recording the testator’s own wishes, and not your wishes – especially if you are a beneficiary of the Will.   We are happy for you to set up the initial appointment, and to be present when the Will writer arrives, and for introductions & tea/coffee.  But after that you would be asked to leave, so that the Will writer can talk to the testator alone.  This is for everybody’s protection, so that if the Will should be challenged after death, the Will writer would be able to testify that they saw the testator alone, that they had the necessary mental capacity to make their Will & there was no undue influence. 

Mirror Wills are prepared for couples who want to make almost identical Wills, for example leaving everything to one another and then to their children. The two Wills are separate legal documents with similar content that “mirror” each other.  

There is no legal reason not to write your own Will – and this would be a legally valid document provided it is signed and witnessed correctly.  However, unless you are a skilled Will writer this is not generally recommended, as any errors would not come to light until after your death – by which time it is obviously too late to sort things out.  Home-made or badly drafted Wills can be just as bad (or even worse) than no Will at all.

Home made DIY Wills are often poorly drafted, contain mistakes or are incorrectly signed & witnessed.  So they are commonly found to be invalid or ineffective after death.  However, if drafted and signed correctly, a handwritten Will is still legally valid. 

These packs are fine if you have very simple requirements – ie if you have a very low value estate, don’t own property, and don’t have a spouse, partner or children. For anyone else it is advisable to have a professionally drafted Will.

Many solicitors do not specialise in writing Wills. Sometimes they will only have had a few hours training on Wills before qualifying. 

At Steadfast Wills, we work more flexibly than most solicitors, visiting you in your own home at a time to suit you – daytime or evening.  Because we specialise in Wills, we can often give better and more cost-effective advice, in plain English not legal jargon.  We are also confident that our prices compare favourably to those of high street solicitors. 

An executor is the person you have chosen to deal with your estate according to the instructions in your Will after your death.  They obtain authority to do this by “proving” the Will at a probate registry, which issues a grant of representation.  The grant will need to be seen by institutions holding your assets and investments before your executor(s) can sell or transfer them (unless their value is below a minimum level).  The executor must pay any taxes and debts, and distribute your estate as your Will directs. 

You can appoint as many executors as you like – however legally only 4 of them can act at any given time.

Yes – if the beneficiary is aged over 18.  Many people choose to do this.  For example, it is very common for couples to appoint one another as executors in the first instance, and then (when the second spouse or partner dies) their adult children. 

Executors will need to be physically present to deal with your affairs.  Appointing those who live far away or abroad may not be the best decision if there are other options locally.  It is sensible to appoint at least one executor in the country where you live. 

It may be appropriate to appoint a professional executor if your estate is particularly complex, or to relieve the burden from grieving loved ones.  We are happy to write Wills appointing any professional of your choice.  If you do not know a suitable professional to appoint, you may wish to consider SWW Trust Corporation

Your executors are also referred to as trustees because technically they are also the trustees of your residuary estate (whether or not you have created other continuing trusts in your Will).  In other words, they look after your money/assets until they are distributed to the eventual beneficiaries. 

If you have children under the age of 18 you need to appoint guardians for them in case a tragedy should occur. Failure to do so could result in a Court appointing someone you would not choose. 

Yes – this is very common.  It normally follows that if you trust somebody to care for your children, you would want them to have some form of access to your assets so that they can provide for your children.  There are some situations where you might not want the guardian to have direct access to your assets – if this is the case then alternative executors can be used.

No.  If you want specific objects, collections or amounts of money to go to particular people, then you should list these. Usually people would list items of particular sentimental value, such as jewellery or “Grandad’s war medals” in the Will itself.  If you have particular wishes about who should get specific household items (things that you use & replace over time) it is recommended that you make a separate list which is referred to in your Will.  This separate list can be updated as often as you like, without needing to re-write your Will.  Everything you do not list (whatever it is) is dealt with through distribution of Residue.  After any specific gifts have been made, married couples (or those in civil partnerships) often choose to leave everything to one another, and then on to any children in equal shares on the death of the survivor. 

There are no legal restrictions on where a Will is stored – however it is important that your executors know where the Will is, and how to retrieve it when the time comes.

There are 3 possibilities:

1. You can store your Will yourself, ideally in a fireproof, waterproof box.
2. One of your executors can store the Will.
3. We can arrange secure storage for a small annual fee.

Yes.  Your trustees would look after the gift until the beneficiary reaches the age you choose.  Often our clients wish their children or grandchildren to inherit at the age of 21 or 25, rather than at 18.

The most common way that a gift can fail is if the beneficiary dies before the testator.  However, there are other, very rare, circumstances in which a gift in a Will can fail.  For example, if a beneficiary kills the testator (including by dangerous driving) that beneficiary cannot benefit financially from the death, so any gift to that particular beneficiary would fail.  The courts are able to overrule this general principle in some individual cases. 

If you have an existing Will, it may need updating to reflect a change in circumstances, for example to provide for additional children or grandchildren, or to remove people you no longer wish to inherit. 

It may also be the case that an old Will is no longer the most efficient way to distribute an estate due to changes in the law. 

It is highly recommended that a Will is reviewed every 3-5 years – or if your personal/financial circumstances change.  It is usually more cost-effective to return to the Will writer or solicitor who made your current Will – as they might offer a reduced fee for rewrites.  If this is not possible, Steadfast Wills are happy to help.  We have produced a Will self-review checklist to help you determine whether a rewrite may be necessary.

Wills are automatically revoked on marriage unless you state otherwise and name the person you intend to marry. 

If you are already in a civil partnership when you make your Will, subsequent marriage to the same person will not revoke the Will. 

Subsequent divorce or dissolution of civil partnership does not revoke the Will, but any gift or provision for a former spouse/civil partner will fail and be treated as if they had died – unless the Will states otherwise.  If you have appointed your former spouse/civil partner as an executor of your Will, this would not take effect either.  It is a good idea to review your Will after divorce or dissolution of civil partnership, to ensure you have made alternative appointments and have chosen other beneficiaries. 

If you separate from your spouse or civil partner, but are not (yet) divorced, this does not affect your Will.  So if you were to die, your estranged spouse or civil partner would still benefit.  If this is not your intention, you need to amend or rewrite your Will. 

You may wish to benefit your current spouse, but also ensure that your own children eventually benefit.  A Will can include trusts which allow a spouse to live in a property for the rest of their life and then the property will pass to the children afterwards.

Most home-owning couples find that they own their home as ‘joint tenants’. This means that when one of them dies, the property automatically passes to the survivor regardless of what each Will may state.

The down-side can be that it is impossible to plan for individual deaths, even via a Will – for example, where a couple have been married or in a relationship before and have children of that relationship that they would want to benefit from their share and interest in their property.

To get around this, you need to consider ‘severing’ the joint tenancy (or ownership) to what is called ‘tenants in common’. This will ensure that you both hold your share of the family home in specific shares and as such you can each leave your share to whoever you wish in your Will. The Will should also contain a simple but effective property trust, commonly called a Protective Property Trust, which guarantees that the survivor will have the security of being able to remain in the property and have full use of it but that the deceased’s share remains in the trust until the trust ends.

It is possible to use trusts in your Will to ensure that a disabled/vulnerable person is provided for, without giving them a large sum of money (which might affect their benefits, or be spent irresponsibly). 

This is not necessary.  However if you would like to leave specific instructions (such as burial/cremation), you can do this in your Will if you want to.  These are only wishes, and not legally binding on your executors to carry them out if they are unable to.  It is a good idea to discuss any funeral wishes with your executors during your lifetime.

Although many people consider their pets to be much loved members of the family, legally they are “personal chattels” – and as such, can be left to a family member or friend in your Will.   If you wish, you can also leave a money gift to that person, to ease the financial burden. 

If you have a large collection of pets, which is likely to change on a regular basis, it may be more practical to leave them to your executors, to be distributed according to a letter of wishes.  That way, you can update the letter of wishes as often as you like, without the need to rewrite your Will each time. 

 If you do not know anybody suitable to take on your pets after you die you may wish to consider gifting your pets to a charity.  This must be organised during your lifetime – many animal charities operate schemes for this. 

Alternatively, you may wish to include a clause in your Will instructing that your pets should be humanely put to sleep by a competent veterinary surgeon. 

Generally you can leave your estate to whoever you choose.  However, if you leave out your spouse/partner, one (or more) of your children, or anybody who is financially dependent on you, that person could challenge the Will after your death, under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975.  Please ask your Will writer for advice about how to reduce the likelihood of success of any such challenge. 

When it has been dated, signed and witnessed correctly.   

You must date and sign your Will in the presence of two independent witnesses (not people who are due to benefit under the Will or who are a spouse/civil partner of a beneficiary) who also sign and give their contact details.  Generally the Will writer would offer to act as one of the witnesses, and would ask you if there’s a friendly neighbour, or friend living nearby, who could be the other one.  If there is nobody else available, the Will writer can usually arrange to bring a second witness along! 

The rules of Inheritance Tax have become more and more complex in recent years.  Having a professionally drafted Will can ensure that your estate is distributed in the most tax efficient way. 

We are happy to give advice on this at the time of taking your instructions.  For more complex estates, we would advise you to discuss your inheritance tax liability with a financial advisor. 

During your lifetime, your Will is a private & confidential document, available only to those you choose to share it with.  After your death, once the Will has gone through probate, any member of the public can obtain a copy of the Will via the government website, on payment of a nominal fee. 

These are a set of rules about how estates are to be administered, and how trusts work –and can be found here.  The STEP provisions can be incorporated into a Will by reference.