1. WHERE THERE’S A WILL YOU HAVE A WAY…
How many people know the detailed provisions of the Intestacy Rules and in particular, if you do not have a will how your money will be distributed on your death? It will be a large percentage of the population including many lawyers so far as the precise details are concerned…. and yet, if you have not made a will, these will be the rules that are applied to your estate and as to who will benefit in the event of your death.
Where you have a Will, there is a way in which you can make clear provision for those of your loved ones that you wish to benefit and perhaps of equal importance, the people you do not want to benefit.
All of us should make sure we have an up to date will but, if you fall into the any of the following categories you should be heading straight off to see your solicitor.
- You have just got married. Even if you have a will, your existing will be rendered void by your getting married. You will have new obligations in any event
- You have separated or are going through divorce proceedings. It is possible that you might not wish your spouse to benefit beyond his or her strict entitlement to the matrimonial assets.
- You have the joy of a child being born. You are now a father or mother. The responsibility should extend to making sure that adequate provision is made for your child in the event that you and your partner/spouse die together or shortly after each other. Wills do not just deal with money, they can appoint guardians. Also, you are worth far more dead than w alive, given the sort of insurance policies most people take out these days. A proper scheme in administering your assets if both of you were to die so that the child benefits properly would seem to be a fundamental obligation that you should feel as a parent.
- You co-habit with a partner but for many number of reasons do not or cannot marry. If you wish your partner to benefit in the event of your death only a Will will ensure any provision whatsoever.
If the prospect of contemplating your own mortality prevents you from making these sensible and perhaps necessary provisions, treat it as if you had a tooth ache. An unpleasant necessity which actually will probably be a lot cheaper than a visit to the dentist: if your solicitor is a reasonably cheery soul, probably a more pleasant one.
At T M Law we will produce a basic will for £125 plus vat and if there are two of you making mutual wills the charge for both will be £200 plus.v.at
I can assure you the process will be painless (relatively) and I can guarantee that after you have made it you will sleep more easily in your bed at night.
