Make sure your will is up to date

Tuesday, 07 April 2009

Writing a will need not be a costly process and will save money for your family and beneficiaries.

If you die without having made a will you are said to have died ‘intestate’. In such a case, if you have no living relatives, then the Taxman gets your entire estate. If you have a spouse or blood relatives, then they would have to apply to the courts to administer the estate, which will take longer and cost them more, and the inheritance tax bill will be higher.

Without a will, you also lose the right to protect some or all of your estate for the benefit of your spouse if he/she has to go into a care home. And if you have children who are not yet adults (under 18) and the children’s other parent is no longer alive, the authorities will decide who looks after them.

If you do not have a will, and are not married, but have been living with a partner, then he or she will not get a penny of your estate – however long you have been living together.

Writing a will is not a difficult process, and it is foolish to think that you will be ‘tempting fate’ by writing one. Writing a will is not just for the elderly. Really, the sensible time to write a will is as soon as you have children, or even before that, when you get married. If you’re not married, then look back at the first point: the government gets your estate. Is that what you want? If not, write a will.

There are many solicitors and legal services who will help you write your will, and you can even pick up a do-it-yourself pack from places like WHSmith.

Act now, and make sure your estate goes where you want it to go.

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