As a solicitor, I have conversations with clients about making wills on a daily basis. I am often surprised by the number of people who tell me that they don’t need a will because ‘my circumstances are really straight forward’ or ‘my children know what I want’.
Equally, I meet clients who have written wills themselves or filled in a template that they have found online. They have never spoken to a professional to find out whether the provisions in their will are actually suitable or whether the will itself is even valid.
This article details why the best approach is to ensure you have a will in place which has been professionally drafted.
Myth 1: “I don’t need a will as my circumstances are straight forward”
This view is often taken by a couple who have children. They often want all of their assets to pass to the survivor of them when the first person passes away and then to their children in equal shares on second death.
Let’s take an example: Anne (48) and Brian (46) have been together for 25 years but are not married. They have two children, Chloe (15) and Daniel (12). They want everything to pass to the survivor and then to their children in equal shares. They have not made wills. Brian then dies.
As Anne and Brian were not married, Anne will not receive anything when Brian dies. Instead, everything will pass to the children. As they are both minors, the estate is held on trust for them until they reach the age of eighteen. Anne is likely to act as trustee, however she has no right to use this money for her own benefit. This could leave Anne in a risky financial position.
What about if Anne and Brian had been married? In those circumstances, Anne would have inherited the first £322,000.00 of Brian’s assets but anything above this figure would have fallen to be divided between Anne (as to half) and Chloe and Daniel (as to the other half). This could result in a more complicated outcome than if Brian had made a will.
But what if Brian’s assets had been below £322,000.00? Well in those circumstances, it is possible that Anne would have inherited everything as they had intended. However, that might not be the best possible outcome for Anne and Brian. If Anne subsequently ends up going into care, she owns all of their combined wealth and she could be required to use the vast majority of this wealth to fund her care.
Equally, if Anne was to get remarried, then she could make a new will leaving everything to her new spouse. Even if she chose not to do so, her new spouse may have a claim to her assets. Brian has not ringfenced any assets for his children and, therefore, ultimately he has no control over what happens to them after Anne’s death. He could have retained some control by having a properly drafted will in place.
There are also other factors to consider. If Anne was to pass away whilst Chloe and Daniel are minors, she has not appointed any guardians to take care of them. She has also not appointed anyone to sort out her affairs and look after her assets for Chloe and Daniel. Even if her children had reached adulthood by this point, it may not be suitable for them to inherit a large sum of money outright.
In short, there are no circumstances which are straight forward. The only way to work out the right approach for you is to have a consultation with a professional who can take a holistic view of all of your circumstances. Ison Harrison Solicitors would be happy to meet with you to carry out a full review and advise as to the best approach. In all circumstances, we would advise that you put some form of will in place.
Myth 2: “I don’t need a solicitor to make my will for me”
This is technically true, but that in itself is part of the problem. In the UK, will writing is not a regulated activity, which means that anyone can offer to prepare a will for you. It is likely that you will have seen adverts on social media or flyers through your door advertising wills at very low prices.
However, in using those services, you often have no guarantee that the work carried out is of good quality. As explained, making a will requires a full assessment of your circumstances. It is not something that should be done as a tick box exercise or by filling in the gaps on a template. There are also certain formalities that must be met when the will is signed for it to be valid.
Most law firms, including Ison Harrison Solicitors, are insured and regulated. This means that you can be assured that any will drafted by this firm will be valid and suitable to you. If, in the rarest of circumstances, there was an error in your will which had consequences for you or your family, then there are means for rectifying any damage. This is often not the case for non-regulated will writers and certainly not where you have written the will on your own.
Most solicitors who work in this field have seen complicated estates which are, to put it bluntly, a mess to deal with. These often arise from homemade wills which are open to interpretation or do not deal with all of the assets in the estate adequately. The cost of dealing with such an issue is usually many times the cost of making a proper will. Given your will is dealing with a lifetime worth of assets, there can be no justification for leaving the distribution of those assets on your death to chance.
Conclusion
Your will isn’t just about dividing up your assets on your death. It is about making sure that the right people are dealing with those assets. It is about future proofing in case the coming years don’t play out as expected. It is about considering what risks could arise in the future and how you can best avoid them.
If you need assistance with making a will, Ison Harrison Solicitors can help. We have a team of experienced wills and probate lawyers who would be happy to meet with you. Contact us for a free confidential consultation on 0113 284 5000 or send us an email at mail@isonharrison.co.uk.
