Step into Christmas with an Up-to-Date Will

I know, I know, I know! In the weeks running up to the festive season, there’s more than enough to do. I hear you. But hear me out. If you’ve spent the whole year with the thought ‘must get the Wills written/updated’ buzzing about at the back of your mind like a frantic fly, now is your chance to swat it away once and for all. How? Well, book NOW, and there’s time to get your Will situation sorted before Christmas.
Having a valid Will is always pertinent but never more so if you’re travelling for the festivities – whether up the M1 or over the Mediterranean.

Thus, I urge you to give your Christmas a head-start by sorting out your Will – I promise I’ll make the process as painless as possible. Then you’ll step into Christmas with an easy mind and a sense of achievement for getting it done – at last!

Interest piqued? Wonderful. Warm fuzzy, festive feelings all round here.

What follows is a heads-up on what your Will should include.

Three things your Will MUST include or cover

1. Your Executors
Executors are the people you choose to carry out the instructions you specify in your Will. Your executors have the legal authority to look after your estate in the event of your death.
For this reason, it’s vital you decide who you want to choose as executors when you draft your Will. Executors can be trusted friends, a family member or even a professional – a solicitor, for example. It’s imperative that you’re able to trust them with money. They should also, of course, be people with a strong sense of responsibility – and the time to do all the necessary work.
An executor can also be a beneficiary of your Will – e.g. your spouse or adult children.

2. Your Guardians
If you’re the parents of children below the age of eighteen, then you MUST, must, must appoint legal guardians to care for them should you die while they’re still minors. I can’t stress enough how imperative this is.

3. Your Beneficiaries
Yes, I realize this sounds like stating the obvious, but it’s crucial that your Will is crystal clear in its identification of your beneficiaries.
You may well also have to give thought to a worst-case scenario. Let’s say, for example, you’re married with young children. What would happen to your estates if you were all to die at the same time? I know this is a terrible, grim thought. But it’s one you must face when getting your Will drafted.

Optional

So that’s dealt with the three things your Will MUST include if it’s to be of any use at all as a Will. What follows is information on some useful but optional things to put in your last Will and Testament.

1. Your Funeral Wishes
There’s no obligation at all for you to include your funeral wishes in your Will. But consider that your family might find it helpful to know what your wishes are. In my experience, many people like to make this clear in their Wills.

2. Personal Belongings
Another optional one. But if you’re adamant that your daughter gets your jewellery, then a clause in your Will to that effect will ensure it.

4. Trusts
If you’re getting a professional Will writer (like me!) or a solicitor to draft your Will, they should assess whether a Trust is appropriate in your Will. There are different Trusts applicable to different scenarios. Your advisor will decide on the best one for your particular circumstances.

5. Inheritance Tax
Again, with good professional advice, you should know if inheritance tax is likely to be a problem for you. And further, what your options are to mitigate a hefty tax bill. To this end, I ask my clients to list all their assets and liabilities so they know what their estates will be worth when they die. Don’t forget life insurance and death in service benefits when you’re compiling your list.

So, that’s a simple overview of the must-haves and the nice-to-haves of your Will. If you’re already pondering all these things and discussing them with the relevant parties, your Will drafting will be so much easier.

I trust you’ve found this helpful, and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like more information on anything I’ve said above. You can call me on 07538946839 or email me at info@swindonwillwriting.co.uk. You’ll also find a webform here: https://swindonwillwriting.co.uk/contact-us/

It only takes a couple of weeks to process a Will, so get in touch now for a worthwhile and useful Christmas gift to yourself – one that will linger longer than new lingerie!