The prospect of creating your will is a scary one for everyone. As well as forcing you to face things you would rather avoid it's also extremely hard to decide how to divide your assets amongst loved ones. When you combine this with the fear of ensuring your will is drawn up correctly it understandably leads to people delaying it.
Why should I make a will?
However, making a will is vitally important, giving you the peace of mind of knowing how your assets are being split up and knowledge that dividing your estate won't fall to your loved ones in an already difficult time.
Making a will allows you to:
- Dictate exactly how your assets will be split up when you die, ensuring the people closest to you get the most help.
- Make the process of grieving easier on your loved ones, who will no longer have to worry about dividing your belongings.
- Ensure the amount of inheritance tax your beneficiaries have to pay is minimised, ensuring they don't have any nasty surprises a few months later.
We don’t need to tell you just how much this benefits both you and your loved ones.
What if I don't make a will?
If you don't make a will your property and possessions are shared out according to the law rather than your wishes, with your personal feelings towards people taken into account.
Naturally, this can cause a lot of pain and arguing within families. A common example of this practice causing problems in recent times is:
- Person A and Person B get married.
- Person A and Person B separate but don't get a divorce.
- Person A enters into a long-term relationship with Person C; they choose not to get married or enter into a civil partnership.
In this example, when Person A dies Person B will get everything from the estate. Person C and any other loved ones would be legally entitled to nothing. We have also had examples of parents suing their children after the death of a partner they didn't marry, as everything automatically goes to the children by the letter of the law.
Alongside people you care about missing out, any causes you would have liked to donate to would also miss out in these circumstances. Inheritance taxes can also be a lot higher in this situation, which can cause a lot of problems in the long-term, particularly in the case of property inheritance.
How do I make a will?
Fortunately, drafting your will isn't as hard as it may seem. At Garratts we have a team of solicitors who specialise in the drafting of wills and providing the best legal advice in this delicate area. If you would like advice on drafting a will or re-drafting a current will you can call our friendly, professional team on 0161 665 3502.
