Liverpool Solicitors

WILLS SOLICITORS LIVERPOOL & PROBATE ADVICE LIVERPOOL

Essential things to consider when making your will

Wills are extremely flexible and convenient mechanisms of enforcing your intentions after you pass away, and help to avoid disputes with friends and family and ensure those you care about receive the benefit of your possessions.  However, given their inherent flexibility, it is a little bit difficult to know what exactly how you should go about making a will and exactly what you should include in them.  We have a compiled a straightforward list of things you should think about when making your will, which should help you get what you want and save you money.

Some basic considerations

Choosing who draws up your will

There are numerous will kits out there that allow you to make your own, but given the complexity of the law and the tendency for legal terms to lose their plain English meaning, mistakes can and often do happen. Unless you are a solicitor or will’s expert, it is best to get an expert wills and probate solicitor.

How to choose your executors

The role of an executor is a burdensome one and before choosing who will be responsible for administering your estate (the sum total of your worldly possessions), you need to make sure that he or she is willing to take on the role and is confident and responsible to do so.  Should you have a problem in selecting executors, you can always have a solicitor or other classes of professionals (bankers, for example) to act as executors for you.  In addition, you should choose someone who will step into the role of executor should something happened to the executor you have named in your will.

Following correct procedures

It’s one thing to decide on what goes in your will, getting the procedures right is an altogether different, yet simple, matter.   In the very least, your will needs to be in writing, dated and signed in the presence of two witnesses (to understand who can be a witness, please have a look at the wills and probate FAQs).

Storage

So you’ve made your will.  Well the next thing you don’t want to do is lose it or forget where it is!  Make sure your will is safely stored away in a proper storage facility where it will be safe from damage, destruction or theft.  Your executors can be given a certificate to allow them to access your will when doing so becomes necessary.

Points particularly relevant to those with children

Appointing guardians

If you have any children under the age of 18, it is wise to appoint guardians you know and trust will look after the welfare of your children, usually your partner.  This aspect of making a will is especially important if you have children with a partner you are not married to.  If you do not cover this issue in the will and you are the surviving male partner, you will not automatically be considered the guardian of the children.  On the other hand, surviving female partners will get automatic guardianship.

Creating a trust and appointing trustees

If you have children under 18, you should consider creating a trust in your will, which will be run by responsible people (trustees) who will use the assets of your choosing for the benefit of named people (beneficiaries – we’ll assume that’s your children in this case).  In choosing suitable trustees, you should assess how responsible they are; the relationship between them and the children (do they properly understand your children’s welfare?) and the capacity to deal with financial matters.

How to save Tax

Taxes can be very complicated and vary with circumstances, so we advise you to get professional advice from a tax accountant.  However, at a basic level, one of the best things you can do in order to save tax is make a trust.  If you have valuable assets or land, they could be subject to inheritance tax.  Making a trust helps you make some savings or avoid inheritance tax altogether.

Legacies

If you have anything that you specifically want to be passed down (perhaps as it has done for many generations before you), you should make a specific legacy and name the person (beneficiary) who you want it left to.  Try to make sure that no “residue” (residue legacy) is left over i.e. specific legacies minus any other assets you own.    Residue legacy will be subject to the laws of intestacy.  To see some of the drawbacks of intestacy, see our main FAQ page for wills and probate.