A Wills ‘to-do’ list

List Your Assets

Before creating your Will, you must consider what makes up your estate. List all your assets, property, investments, pensions and personal belongings. Assess their value and total them up.

Next, list all your debts and, again, total them. Take your debts from your assets and you will arrive at your net estate. This is the figure on which Inheritance Tax is calculated.

Listing your assets will help you decide who you should allocate those assets to.

Don’t forget to address your digital assets such as social media accounts, music and photo libraries and crypto assets.

Plan for Inheritance Tax

Once you know the size of your estate, you can calculate potential Inheritance Tax.  This tax becomes payable when the net estate is more than £325,000. There are exemptions and allowances, for example all gifts between spouses or civil partners are exempt. However, that might not be the right option so it’s best to get professional advice to help reduce or eliminate Inheritance Tax.

Decide on your Executor(s)

Your choice of executor is probably the most important decision as they are responsible for looking after your estate and following your wishes, so it is important to choose someone you trust.

You should also consider appointing a joint or substitute executor. When you do this, should one of them die, the survivor can deal with the administration of your estate.

Decide on Residuary Estate

After deciding on specific gift items, you wish to leave, you must consider who should receive the remainder of your estate. This is called the residue, meaning anything left after individual estate items have been dealt with. If you don’t deal with your residue, it will be dealt with under the law of succession.

Prepare for Unexpected Events

Make provision in your Will to ensure that if someone you’ve named dies or, in the case of a charity, ceases to exist, the share in the estate they were to receive is re-directed elsewhere.

Consider appointing a guardian

If you have young children, particularly disabled children, you need to think about who you would wish to look after them if you and their other parent were both to pass away.

Sign Your Will Properly

You must sign your Will correctly. It must be signed at the end in the presence of two witnesses who must also sign. The witnesses shouldn’t be beneficiaries of the Will.

Review Your Will Regularly

Once you’ve made a Will, it is essential to keep it under review. Significant life events such as marriage, divorce or having children could alter or invalidate your Will. Similarly, if your wealth increases it could affect how much inheritance tax your estate might pay.