WGS Solicitors in Paddington London

things to consider when
MAKING A WILL

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1. Decide on your Executors
2. Decide on your principal beneficiaries
3. Alternative beneficiaries
4. No children?
5. What about my possessions?
6. Can I do the Will myself?
7. Do I have to make a Will?
8. Is a Will essential?
9. What if I have a Will already?
10. Do my Executors have to follow my instructions?

1. Decide on your executors.
They should preferably be people of your generation or younger as it is assumed they will survive you to administer your Will. Many people also arrange that one executor should be a spouse or close member of the family and the other a professional, an accountant or solicitor. There is no extra charge made for acting as an Executor if a partner of this firm is appointed as an executor. There will be a charge made for work done in administering an estate
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2. Decide on your principal beneficiaries
Presumably if you are married or have a permanent partner, the beneficiary will be your wife/husband or partner. If you are unmarried, presumably it would be children, siblings, nephews or nieces, close friends, your parents or perhaps a charity.
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3. Alternative beneficiaries.
If you have children, presumably it will be your children & grandchildren both living and those who may be born in future.
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4. What happens if my spouse, partner or children all die or I have no children?
You therefore need to choose your Residuary Beneficiaries. Remember that if you are part of a married couple in these circumstances then you will have survived your spouse and your children, or had no children, you would be leaving not only your estate but also your deceased spouse’s estate and therefore you may well wish to divide your estate into two parts, leaving half to your family and half to your spouse or partner’s family.
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5.1 What about my possessions, both financial and personal?
It is not a good idea to list your assets such as “my money in Barclays Bank”, or a particular life policy or investment. Things change and it is obviously to be hoped that you will live for many years after you have made your Will. It is better to say that you wish all of your savings or all of your free cash or all of your investments to be left to one person or to be shared between a group of people rather than leave a particular asset to a particular person.

5.2 So far as personal possessions are concerned, again these can change. It is possible to make a list in your Will to whom you would like to leave a particular picture or piece of furniture but it is a much better idea to instruct your executors to distribute your personal possessions in accordance with a Letter of Wishes. You can then yourself prepare a Letter of Wishes which you can send to your Solicitor to keep with your Will or keep in a safe place at home with a copy of your Will so your executors know how you have decided from time to time to distribute your possessions.
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6. Can I do the Will myself, or do I have to use a solicitor?
It is our practice to try and charge as modestly as possible for Wills, both as a service to our clients and to encourage people to make Wills. It is not a good idea to try and make a Will yourself. It is very easy to make a mistake, to omit essential information or to have it incorrectly witnessed so that it is not effective. Furthermore, a homemade Will is much more likely to be contested than a professionally drawn Will. If there were to be such a dispute the modest saving in professional fees at the time of making the Will will be lost many times over in the cost of members of your family fighting a distressing dispute after your death.
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7. Do I have to make a Will?
If you do not, your assets will be distributed according to what are known as the Intestacy Rules which follow a historic set of principles and which define the class of person entitled to share in your estate and take no account of your own personal wishes. Furthermore, the Intestacy Rules provide that your spouse receives much less than you would normally expect or probably wish. An unmarried partner will receive nothing and a spouse from whom you might be separated would be treated as your next of kin and will enjoy the benefits of your estate as if you were still living together as man and wife. The Intestacy Rules can also have adverse tax consequences and the Executors may not be the people chosen by you and trusted by you, but will follow the rules laid down by the legislation.
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8. Is it essential that I make a Will, therefore?
It is certainly a very good idea. It enables you to choose your Executor/s and chose the testamentary guardians, that is the members of your family or friends who will care for your children if you and your spouse should die prematurely. You can in your Will advise your family what arrangements you want to make for a funeral or cremation and with our expertise you can also seek professional advice on what steps you can take to minimise the Inheritance Tax that may have to be paid on your estate.
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9. What if I have a Will already, what happens to that?
In your new Will you will provide for the replacement of your old Will. In addition a new Will is essential if you are separated, divorced or have remarried. Furthermore, a Will is particularly important if you have an unmarried partner since under the Intestacy Rules that person will receive no benefit. Only by making a Will can you provide for your assets to be transferred to or shared with an unmarried partner. At the same time you should discuss with your solicitor the manner in which you own property. By making particular arrangements as to the manner in which you hold property you can achieve Inheritance Tax savings, which your solicitor will be happy to explain to you. If you have an earlier Will, after you have signed your new Will, you should make arrangements for the old Will to be destroyed. Family and friends do not need at the traumatic time following the death of a loved one the worry of looking for a Will or the worry abut the consequences of your dying intestate.
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10. If I make a Will do my executors have to follow my instructions?
The answer is, of course, “Yes” wherever possible. However in addition your executors, if they take professional advice, can, with the consent of all beneficiaries, vary the terms of your Will by way of a Deed known either as a “Deed of Family Arrangement” or a “Deed of Variation”. This can take advantage of legitimate tax arrangements and can provide for children or for your surviving spouse if at the time of your death the arrangements made in your Will are felt by all of your survivors and beneficiaries who are named in the Will to be inadequate or inappropriate and could be distributed in a more tax efficient way.
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