Making a Will is vitally important. It is often assumed that if you do not make a Will your possessions are automatically left to your loved ones in their entirety. This is incorrect, but making a Will with the help of an expert will avoid all the difficulties and complications that can arise if you do not have a Will. Making a Will does not signify the end - it secures the future.

Home made Wills should be treated with caution and should only be used in the most straightforward of circumstances. Without expert help there is a real risk that you could make a mistake which might render the Will invalid or cause problems for your family and friends after your death.

Why make a Will?

Whether you are single, an unmarried or married couple, civil partners, divorced or separated, parents or not, there are plenty of sound reasons to make a Will:

• You can choose who will be in charge of winding up your affairs (your Executors)
• If you do not make a Will you cannot give your Executors special rights to deal with your estate, such as specific authority to buy a house for your family to live in, or to continue to manage/run any business interests. The Executors may be hampered in the efficient winding up of your affairs by the limited powers Parliament affords in these circumstances. Making a Will which includes appropriate additional powers and discretions can enable your Executors to deal with your estate more efficiently and effectively.
• If you do not make a Will you cannot leave a gift to charity. You might wish to leave a legacy to a charity that you have supported during your life - or you might wish a charity to inherit your estate if all the people you might have otherwise chosen to benefit have died before you.
• If you do not make a Will you cannot leave a legacy or keepsake to a friend.
• Without a Will you may pay more Inheritance Tax than is necessary or lose the opportunity to preserve assets for your chosen beneficiaries.
• Without a Will, you lose the chance of getting unbiased independent advice.
• Mainly though, if you fail to make a Will, through an experienced expert, you are not doing the best you can for your family.

Our specialist wills and trust solicitors can guide you through the options that are available to you in preparing your Will, sympathetically taking into consideration your personal circumstances and family set-up including:

• helping you to specify who is to benefit from your estate
• setting out your funeral wishes
• appointing your Executors, or we can be appointed as Executors to deal with all the administration of your estate
• appointing guardians to look after young children and even making provision for your pets!
• establishing a trust where appropriate to protect assets for specific individuals who may have a disability or are children from a previous relationship
• protection of assets from possible care home fees in the future
• ensuring the smooth transition of ownership of any business that you own (or if preferred its sale after your death) – vital in ensuring its continued success

If you already have a Will we are happy to review it with you and then advise whether any changes are necessary to update it. We recommend that all Wills should be regularly reviewed and in particular if you:

• marry/enter into a civil partnership
• separate, divorce or if your civil partnership is dissolved
• become a parent or grandparent
• move house
• retire
• receive an inheritance
• lose a family member

We are happy to store your Will free of charge in our purpose built Strong Room and to provide you with a scanned or photocopied version for your records. Access to the original will be provided to your Executors on production of a Registrar’s certified copy of your Death Certificate and satisfactory proof of their identity (usually a Passport or photocard driving licence and a recent utility bill).

Where we have been appointed Executors in the Will, we will deal with the general administration of the estate keeping all parties updated of the progress being made.

For advice on Wills please contact:

Ian Shipton on 01934 637 904 e-mail shipton@powellslaw.com, or
Jenny Brading on 01934 637 931 e-mail brading@powellslaw.com.