WHY MAKE A WILL ?……All you need to know

IF YOU AND YOUR MARRIED OR UNMARRIED PARTNER HAVE NO WILLS, PLEASE READ THESE ARTICLES ! :- 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7334313/I-never-felt-marriage-important-day-Paolo-died.html 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/not-written-a-will-prince-charles-could-get-your-cash-jm0x6skhx  

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-12-31/couples-make-history-in-first-mixed-sex-civil-partnerships/

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  9 GOOD REASONS TO CALL ME…….

1. Fixed fees pre-quoted in writing.
2. Complex family situations easily resolved.
3. Personal supervision of your Will attestation.
4. Institute of Professional Will Writers qualified click for link to website.
5. Advice on Local Authority care home fees mitigation.
6. Lasting Power of Attorney arrangement click for link to page.
7. Probate arrangement  click for link to page.
8. FREE guidance on taxation, investment, pensions, business and money matters.
9. Inheritance Tax planning click for link to page.

‘Making a Will is particularly important if you have children under 18, or have step-children, or wish yourself and your spouse to inherit most if not all of each other’s estates, or to protect your own children’s inheritance in the event of re-marriage or going into a care home’ .

YOUR WILL CHECKLIST: WHICH TOPICS APPLY TO YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES ?

• You have no Will.
• You are in an un-married partnership or have recently married, re-married, divorced or ended a relationship where a property was shared.
• You have no provision in your Will to protect your children’s inheritance should your spouse re-marry.
• Marriage or re-marriage invalidates a Will, thus channelling legacies away from the wishes of the Testator (Will­-maker). However, a properly revised Will can put the terms of the Will back on track in the light of the Testator’s revised wishes in relation to the new family circumstances.
• Divorce does not invalidate a Will, although divorced spouses named in a Will are treated as though having died on the date of divorce. The rest of the terms of the Will may be valid, but again out of date with the new family circumstances.
• You have not provided for the welfare of minors (under 18) in the event of one or both parents’ premature death.
• You have step-children, or children or relatives of any age who have special care needs
• You are unsure whether a Local Authority can force you or an elderly parent to sell your house to fund care home fees.
• You or your elderly parents require a Lasting Power of Attorney arrangement
• You own property abroad, not covered by a Will in that country.
• You are concerned (or unaware) that capital taxes (40% Inheritance Tax) arising on your death could erode the family wealth before it passes to your beneficiaries.
• You have business interests, with possibly no formal written arrangements for continuity and stewardship of your business after death.

INTERESTING TO KNOW…….

Where property is owned jointly under a joint tenancy, on the death of one of the joint tenants, the deceased’s share of the joint property passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant, and is not subject to the Intestacy Rules. The property cannot be passed to anyone else under a will or intestacy, but this restriction could be overcome by changing the property ownership to a tenants-in-common arrangement.

The Intestacy Rules are subject to a 28 day survivorship rule under section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925, so if the spouse dies within this time, the intestacy rules state that the intestate estate will be dealt with as if there had been no spouse.

Under law, if a couple die in an accident, and it is not known who died first, the older of the two will be deemed to have died first under section 184 of the Law of Property Act 1925. Should there be no surviving bloodline, ie children, grandchildren etc, the couple’s two estates would go to the beneficiaries of the younger survivor only.

THE BAD NEWS……..even if you are married……..

Under the Intestacy Rules, ie without a Will, part of your estate could by-pass the surviving spouse and pass directly to children, as follows:-

If there is a surviving spouse and no children, ALL assets pass to surviving spouse.

If there is a surviving ‘spouse’, ie incl civil partner, and surviving children:

The spouse takes:

From 26 July 2023 the fixed sum paid to the surviving spouse or partner of someone who dies ‘intestate’ – in other words, without having made a Will – is to rise from £270,000 to £322,000.

If there are grandchildren and great grandchildren

A grandchild or great grandchild cannot inherit from the estate of an intestate person unless either:

• their parent or grandparent has died before the intestate person, or
• their parent is alive when the intestate person dies but dies before reaching the age of 18 without having married or formed a civil partnership

In these circumstances, the grandchildren and great grandchildren will inherit equal shares of the share to which their parent or grandparent would have been entitled.

If there is a surviving spouse and no children, the husband, wife or civil partner gets all of the estate. 

If no surviving spouse and no children, then parents of the deceased inherit, but if no parents, brothers or sisters of the deceased: 

If there are no surviving brothers or sisters or their children, the order of precedence of surviving relatives, if traceable, is as follows:-

  ØHalf brother or sisters or their children.
  ØGrandparents.
  ØUncles or aunts or their children.
  ØHalf uncles and aunts or their children.

If you have no surviving parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles or aunts, then under the Intestacy Rules, the whole estate goes to the Crown or the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duke of Cornwall.

THE GOOD NEWS…….whether or not you are married…….

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED……..

The Inheritance and Trustees Powers Act 2014 was given Royal Assent on 14 May 2014

 

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