There is nothing more important than ensuring all you have worked hard for passes to those who matter to you upon death. Preparing and signing a Will allows you to think about your wishes and ensure they will be honoured on your death.
Without a Will you have no say in how your estate will be dealt with or by whom. The Rules of Intestacy will govern what happens to your assets and who has authority to administer the estate. Your family may not end up with all that you wish or their future may be complicated by assets going elsewhere or into unnecessary trusts. The absence of a will can also lead to delay in Probate as no one has any immediate authority to deal with your estate.
As soon as you begin to save, purchase your first home, have your first child or inherit money a Will becomes important. It needs to be reviewed regularly and particularly when there is a life changing event like a birth, marriage, divorce or death.
As long as you are able to give instructions and have capacity to make a Will you can. You choose who you want to be the person who looks after your estate. You choose who you want to look after your young children. You choose who you leave your personal items to and you choose who you want to receive your money, your home and your shares.
Many people think that making a Will is easy. It can be, but your assets, the value of those assets, your personal circumstances and where you live can make things much more complicated. Wills can help with these complications too. Wills can protect assets from being swallowed in care charges, they can provide a safe method of passing inheritance to young beneficiaries and beneficiaries with visible or invisible health conditions, they can help with inheritance planning and they can prevent arguments.
Once you have read this article find your will and have a look at what it says. Does it make provisions for your grandchildren and children, are your executors still alive or are they older than you, have you made any specific gifts of items you no longer have, do you have protection in your wills for care fee purposes and does the will take into account the value of your estate. It is likely that all of these things have changed since you made the will. It is not only personal things which have changed. For a number of years an individual has been able to hold assets up to the value of £325,000 before you pay Inheritance Tax. You can now also potentially claim up to a further £175,000 if you plan to leave your family home to your children and grandchildren. There are transferrable Inheritance Tax allowances that can be claimed by the second of you to die if the first did not make use of them. Certain assets receive certain Inheritance Tax reliefs.
When you add families, taxes and care in to the will process what seems straightforward can become rather more complex. If this article prompts you to take action and you feel you want to speak to someone about your will make sure you speak to someone qualified to give the advice. If you wish you can give the team at Argo a call, for an initial free discussion as to what you should and need to do, if anything! Our number is 01622 843729.
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