Wills

You will be deemed to have died intestate, and your estate will follow intestacy rules.

It is a good idea to look at your Will every 3 years, but this doesn’t mean it will need changing. After any change in circumstance (births, deaths, remarriages, inheritance etc) it’s worth contacting your estate planner to see if you need to make amendments.

You must be 18 to have a Will. But most people do not have a Will at 18 because it’s unlikely they have an estate of any value. You should really consider having a Will when you have wealth you want to pass onto someone else, or you have children. It’s extremely important that guardians are appointed in your Will, so your children can be looked after by the people you trust.

There are many things to consider when appointing guardians, one you should consider is age. For most young families, there’s nobody better than the grandparents to raise your children in your absence. In the short term this may be ideal, however it’s important to have reserve guardians, as your parents are also getting older, and may not always be in the best position to look after your children. It’s also a good idea to discuss plans with your guardians, to double check they’re on board. Consider the location of your guardians, how many children do they have? For most of us, there will only be a couple of people we trust enough to raise our children, and that will be our highest priority, and rightly so

If you have done some research, you may have come across different types of Wills. These can get confusing if this is the first time you have been through this process (and sometimes even after that!). We can differentiate between the different types with one question, would you like to give your beneficiaries any protection? If the answer to this is no, having a basic will in place will likely fit your needs, if the answer is yes, having a trust written in your Will gives your beneficiaries this protection. A Basic Will distributes your estate to the people you wish at the age of 18. It includes guardians, executors, and trustees, along with any specific gifts you would like to make and any funeral requests you have. The difference between that and a Will Trust is how your beneficiaries inherit. If you have trusts written within your Will, there is protection around the inheritance your beneficiaries receive. The trust can stipulate an age for them to inherit. 18 is very young, so you might want to change that to 25. Trusts can also protect what you have worked hard for, against third parties (like future partners), for the benefit of your beneficiaries. Everyone’s needs are different, so it’s wise to speak to a specialist to find out what type of Will is best for you.

Simply put, the executor of a Will is responsible for managing the deceased’s estate. This can include applying for grant of probate, paying debts & taxes, distributing the wealth to beneficiaries, and following any other terms/wishes you stipulated in your Will. This can be done by a trusted family member or friends, but often is outsourced to professionals due to the complex processes involved. Every estate is different, and hearing that a friend of yours went through this process for their parents easily does not mean you will have the same experience. An executor is responsible for ensuring the estate is distributed correctly, and if a mistake is made, the executor is legally responsible. In these instances, your executors may want to put insurance in place.

Often, the executor/s are the same people as the trustee/s, however they do have different roles & responsibilities. The executor of a Will is responsible for managing the deceased’s estate. This can include applying for grant of probate, paying debts & taxes, distributing the wealth to beneficiaries, and following any other terms/wishes you stipulated in your Will. The executors job ends when estate administration is finished. If there is a requirement for a trust to be set up in the Will, that is when the trustees job begins – there must be a minimum of two trustees. The trustees’ jobs are to look after and manage assets on behalf of the named beneficiary(s). This could be to look after assets for minor children until they reach the age specified, or to ensure a partner has the right to live in a property.