Wills Solicitors

Things to consider when you make a Will include

• Who will administer your estate
• Who will benefit from your estate
• Who will care for your young children
• How much financial provision to make for your beneficiaries
• What age your young beneficiaries will inherit
• Setting up a trust that provides for a vulnerable child or dependent
• Who gets possessions of sentimental value and family heirlooms
• Whether you would like to leave anything to charity.

You can review your Will at any time and can make amendments if your circumstances change.

Yes, you can make changes to your Will at any time and we encourage you to do so, especially if there has been a life-changing event such as marriage, children or divorce.

If you do not make a valid Will before you pass away, you have no say in how your estate is dealt with. Instead, the law will apply a default set of rules which dictates who receives your wealth and assets. This is known as the ‘Intestacy Rules’. It could mean that people you did not intend to inherit end up benefiting from your estate. Your estate may also end up paying more in tax than if you had made a Will.

We will see you initially to take instructions, before drafting the Will and sending it to you for approval.  You will then be seen at a second meeting when you will sign the Will in the presence of two witnesses from Mullis & Peake LLP.  This ensures that the legal requirements for the signing of Wills are met and that the Will is valid. The Will can usually be completed within two-four weeks, depending on your availability and clarification of your instructions and wishes.

There are things that you can do to reduce or possibly even completely eliminate the amount of inheritance tax that you pay. The best thing to do is to get expert advice during your lifetime. An estate planner can help you plan your affairs and your money in a tax efficient way to make sure that when eventually the time comes and you pass on, your loved ones pay as little or hopefully no tax whatsoever. If you haven't done the tax planning in your lifetime it can still be possible to manage your affairs and apply certain reliefs after you have passed away to again help reduce or eliminate the tax completely. But again, we would say because it is a complex area the best thing to do is always seek expert advice from someone who knows all about inheritance tax.

Your Will could become invalid If your circumstances change. For example, if you get married or enter into a civil partnership, any earlier Will that you might have had automatically becomes invalidated, which is known as revoked. Similarly, if you were to go through a relationship breakdown and divorce, that might affect how your Will is applied. It's always important to check with a professional and see if your Will needs updating if there have been any important changes in your personal circumstances.

If you have lost a loved one, there is no easy way to find out if that person left a Will because there's no mandatory national register. So, the best thing to do is if you make a Will is to tell your loved ones about it. Generally speaking, if you use a professional, they will ensure that you have a copy and some material that you can leave with your loved one so that they know where the Will is stored and how they can retrieve it when the time is needed.

Will writing isn't a regulated activity and that basically means that anybody can make a Will. You can even make one yourself. But if you use a law firm it's not just a secretary or service that will type up what you ask them, but you'll get expert advice and importantly, you will also get tax planning advice, so it could save you tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of pounds. Plus you have the added benefit of protection, because law firms will be regulated, they'll be insured and so your loved ones won't lose out in the event something does go wrong.

A child can inherit in the same way anybody else can, whether that is with or without a Will. However, if the child is under 18, because they haven't reached the age of maturity yet under law, somebody else needs to be appointed to receive and look after their share of the inheritance until they turn 18. Now. This does come with some important obligations because the person who is entrusted to look after the money for them might need to take advice or invest it in a sensible way to make sure that their money is protected and grows.

Keep your Will somewhere safe, waterproof, and fireproof. If you prepare your Will with solicitors, like Mullis & Peake for example, we can store them in our safe, free of charge.

A beneficiary is someone who will benefit or inherit from your estate once you have passed away. This could include property or cash, or both.

Mirror Wills are Wills made by two people which have the same content. However, these Wills can be changed at any time, as long as a person writing the Will has capacity. Although the Wills are very similar, they are not a ‘joint Will’.