Frequently asked questions about Will Writing

A Lasting Power of Attorney is arranged by you while you still have mental capacity. It allows you to choose who should make decisions and to include preferences or instructions about how they should act.

Deputyship is generally required when somebody has already lost mental capacity without making a valid LPA. A relative or other suitable person must apply to the Court of Protection, which decides whether to appoint them and what authority they should receive.

The deputy may need to pay application and supervision fees, submit reports and comply with ongoing Court of Protection requirements. The process also gives the person who has lost capacity less control over who is appointed.

Making an LPA in advance is generally simpler and allows you to choose your own attorneys. However, deputyship provides an important legal route when an LPA can no longer be created.

You can cancel an LPA while you still have mental capacity. This is known as revoking the LPA and requires the correct formal documentation.

You may also be able to remove an individual attorney without cancelling the entire arrangement, although the effect will depend on how the attorneys were originally appointed. In some circumstances, removing one jointly appointed attorney can prevent the remaining attorneys from acting.

You cannot normally alter the contents of a registered LPA directly. If you want to change your attorneys, instructions or preferences, it may be necessary to revoke the existing document and make a new one.

Certain changes must also be reported to the Office of the Public Guardian, including an attorney’s change of name or address. An LPA may end automatically following events such as the donor’s death or, in some circumstances, bankruptcy or the end of a marriage.

The Office of the Public Guardian currently charges £92 to register each Lasting Power of Attorney. As Property and Financial Affairs and Health and Welfare are separate documents, registering both normally requires two registration fees.

People receiving certain means-tested benefits may qualify for a fee exemption, while those with a sufficiently low income may be eligible for a reduction. Professional fees for advice and preparation are separate from the registration charge.

The Office of the Public Guardian currently advises that registration usually takes around eight to ten weeks when there are no errors in the application. Mistakes, missing signatures or objections can cause delays.

Because an LPA cannot be used until it has been registered, it is sensible to prepare and register it before it is urgently needed.

A dementia diagnosis does not automatically prevent someone from making an LPA. The important question is whether they still have the mental capacity to understand the document and the authority they are giving to their attorneys.

Mental capacity is decision-specific and may fluctuate. A person may therefore be able to make an LPA during the earlier stages of dementia if they understand its purpose, the powers being granted and the possible consequences.

A certificate provider must confirm that the person understands the LPA and is not being pressured into making it.

If the person has already lost the capacity required to create an LPA, it is too late to make one. A family member or other suitable person may instead need to apply to the Court of Protection to become a deputy. That process is generally more involved and can be more expensive than arranging an LPA in advance.

An LPA cannot be used until it has been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Once registered, a Property and Financial Affairs LPA can be used with your permission while you still have mental capacity. This can be helpful if you are physically unwell, have mobility difficulties or simply want assistance managing financial matters.

If you later lose mental capacity, your attorneys can continue acting within the authority provided by the document.

A Health and Welfare LPA works differently. It can only be used when you are unable to make the specific health or welfare decision yourself. Losing capacity for one decision does not necessarily mean you lack capacity for every decision.

Your attorneys must always consider whether you can make the particular decision before acting and must follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

You can appoint more than one attorney and decide how they should make decisions.

Attorneys can be appointed jointly, meaning they must agree and act together on every decision. Alternatively, they can act jointly and severally, allowing them to make decisions either together or independently. You can also require joint decisions for specified matters while allowing other decisions to be made separately.

Requiring every decision to be made jointly provides shared control but can cause practical difficulties. If one joint attorney dies, loses capacity or can no longer act, the remaining attorneys may be unable to continue unless the LPA has been drafted to deal with that situation.

Allowing attorneys to act jointly and severally usually provides greater flexibility, but it also means an individual attorney may make certain decisions alone. The most appropriate arrangement depends on the people appointed and the powers involved.

Your attorney must be aged 18 or over and should be someone you trust to make careful decisions in your best interests.

You can appoint a spouse, partner, adult child, relative, friend or professional adviser. An attorney for Property and Financial Affairs must not be bankrupt or subject to a debt relief order.

Consider whether the person is reliable, understands your wishes and is capable of handling the decisions involved. Someone managing finances should be organised and comfortable dealing with banks, bills and records. Someone making health and welfare decisions may need to communicate confidently with doctors, care providers and family members.

You should speak to each proposed attorney before naming them because they must agree to take on the role. You can also name replacement attorneys who can act if one of your original attorneys becomes unable or unwilling to continue.

You do not legally have to make both types of LPA, but having both usually provides more complete protection.

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA allows your attorneys to help manage your money, accounts, bills, benefits, pensions and property. It does not permit them to make decisions about your medical treatment or care.

A Health and Welfare LPA can cover medical care, living arrangements, personal welfare and life-sustaining treatment. However, it does not give your attorneys authority to manage your bank accounts or other financial affairs.

Having only one LPA can therefore leave an important gap. For example, your family might be able to discuss your care but have no authority to access money needed to pay your bills.

The decision should reflect your circumstances, but arranging both documents at the same time can provide a coordinated plan for your future.

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney in England and Wales: a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and a Health and Welfare LPA.

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA can allow your attorneys to manage matters such as bank accounts, bills, benefits, pensions, investments and property. Once registered, it may be used while you still have mental capacity if you give your permission.

A Health and Welfare LPA covers decisions about medical care, daily routines, care arrangements, where you live and, if expressly authorised, life-sustaining treatment. It can only be used when you are unable to make the particular decision yourself.

The two documents provide different powers. Creating one type of LPA does not give your attorneys authority over the matters covered by the other.

Marriage does not automatically give your spouse authority to manage all your finances or make every health and welfare decision on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.

Without a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, your spouse may be unable to access accounts held solely in your name, manage investments, deal with certain bills or sell property on your behalf. Joint bank accounts can also be restricted if a bank is concerned that one account holder no longer has mental capacity.

Healthcare professionals should consult those close to you when making significant decisions, but your spouse does not automatically have the legal decision-making powers that a Health and Welfare LPA can provide.

Making LPAs allows you to choose who should act and record how you would like decisions to be approached, rather than leaving your family to resolve the situation after you have lost capacity.

A trust can help control and protect an inheritance intended for children or grandchildren.

Rather than giving a beneficiary complete access to an inheritance immediately, a trust can appoint responsible trustees to manage the assets until the beneficiary reaches a specified age or meets particular conditions. The trustees may also be able to use money for the child’s education, maintenance or other needs in the meantime.

A discretionary trust can provide greater flexibility by allowing trustees to respond to each beneficiary’s circumstances. This may be helpful if a child is financially inexperienced, vulnerable or experiencing relationship or financial difficulties.

However, no trust can guarantee complete protection from every future event, including divorce, bankruptcy or a legal challenge. Its effectiveness will depend on its terms, administration and the individual circumstances involved.

A trust is a legal arrangement used to hold and manage money, property or other assets for one or more beneficiaries.

The person who creates the trust is known as the settlor. The settlor transfers assets into the trust and appoints trustees to look after them. The trustees become legally responsible for managing those assets according to the instructions contained in the trust document. The people who may ultimately receive the assets or benefit from them are known as the beneficiaries.

A trust can begin during the settlor’s lifetime or be created through a will after their death. Trusts are commonly used to provide for children, support vulnerable beneficiaries, preserve family wealth or control when and how an inheritance is distributed.

The precise rights of the trustees and beneficiaries depend on the type of trust and how it has been drafted.

Several types of trust are available in the UK, and each provides different levels of control and flexibility.

A bare trust gives a beneficiary an absolute right to the trust’s assets once they reach the relevant age. A discretionary trust allows the trustees to decide which beneficiaries receive money, how much they receive and when payments should be made.

An interest in possession trust gives a beneficiary the right to receive income or occupy a property while preserving the underlying asset for somebody else. This can be useful when providing for a surviving spouse while protecting an inheritance for children.

Other arrangements include accumulation trusts, mixed trusts, trusts for vulnerable people and trusts created specifically through a will.

The legal and tax treatment differs between these arrangements, so the right trust should be selected according to its intended purpose.

A lifetime trust is created while you are alive, whereas a will trust is written into your will and normally begins after your death.

With a lifetime trust, assets are transferred to trustees during your lifetime. Depending on the trust’s terms, the trustees may begin managing the property, investments or money immediately. Creating a lifetime trust can have immediate legal and tax consequences because ownership and control of the assets may change.

A will trust does not usually receive its assets until the person who made the will has died. It can then be used to provide for a surviving spouse or partner, manage an inheritance for children or protect assets for vulnerable beneficiaries.

Neither arrangement is automatically better. The most appropriate option depends on what you want to achieve, the assets involved and the needs of your beneficiaries.

A house or a share of a property can be placed into a trust, but the consequences must be considered carefully.

A property trust included in a will may allow a surviving spouse or partner to continue living in the home while preserving the deceased person’s share for children or other beneficiaries. For this arrangement to work, jointly owned property may need to be held as tenants in common rather than as joint tenants.

It is also possible to transfer property into a trust during your lifetime. However, doing so can affect ownership, control, taxation, mortgage arrangements and your ability to sell or use the property in the future.

Putting a house into a trust does not automatically remove it from your estate or guarantee protection from Inheritance Tax or care costs. The purpose of the trust and your personal circumstances should therefore be assessed before any property is transferred.

A trust can be used to provide financial support for a disabled or otherwise vulnerable beneficiary without giving them direct responsibility for managing a large inheritance.

The trustees can manage the trust’s money or property and make payments according to the beneficiary’s needs. This can provide long-term oversight and protect somebody who may struggle to manage their own finances or who could be vulnerable to pressure from other people.

Certain trusts for vulnerable beneficiaries may qualify for special tax treatment when the relevant legal conditions are satisfied. However, receiving money or assets can also affect a person’s entitlement to means-tested benefits, depending on the type of trust and the beneficiary’s rights.

The trust must therefore be carefully structured around the person’s circumstances, likely future needs and any benefits or care arrangements they receive.

A trustee should be someone you consider honest, reliable and capable of managing financial and administrative responsibilities.

Trustees must follow the terms of the trust, act in the beneficiaries’ best interests, manage the assets carefully and keep appropriate records. Depending on the trust, they may also need to make difficult decisions about payments to beneficiaries, arrange valuations, complete tax returns or register information with HMRC.

You may appoint trusted relatives or friends, but it is worth considering whether they have the necessary time, judgement and ability to work with the other trustees. Appointing more than one trustee can provide shared decision-making and continuity if somebody is unable to act.

A professional trustee may be appropriate where the assets, family relationships, tax position or beneficiaries’ needs are particularly complex. Professional trustees will normally charge for their work.

Trustees are legally responsible for managing the trust in accordance with its terms and for the benefit of its beneficiaries.

Their duties may include protecting and investing trust assets, maintaining accurate accounts, making appropriate distributions and keeping beneficiaries informed. Trustees must act impartially, avoid conflicts of interest and must not use trust property for their own benefit unless the trust expressly permits it.

Trustees can also have tax and reporting responsibilities. They may need to register the trust, report income and gains, submit tax returns, pay tax from the trust and provide beneficiaries with information about income they receive.

Trustees can be held personally accountable if they breach their duties or fail to meet the trust’s tax obligations. Anyone considering the role should therefore understand the responsibilities before accepting the appointment.

Some assets held in a lifetime trust may not form part of your estate for probate purposes because legal ownership has already passed to the trustees. Those assets may therefore be managed or transferred without waiting for a grant of probate.

However, creating a trust does not necessarily mean that probate will be avoided altogether. Assets remaining in your sole name when you die may still require probate before your executors can deal with them. A trust created by your will also normally receives its assets through the administration of your estate, so probate may still be required.

Probate should not be the only reason for creating a trust. Lifetime trusts can involve costs, tax consequences, registration requirements and a loss of direct control over the assets.

The trust should have a clear estate-planning purpose and be considered alongside your will, property ownership and wider financial arrangements.

Trusts can be liable for Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax, depending on the type of trust, its assets and the circumstances of the settlor and beneficiaries.

Inheritance Tax can sometimes arise when assets enter a trust, on certain ten-year anniversaries and when assets leave the trust. Different rules apply to different trust structures, so placing assets in trust does not automatically make them tax-free.

Many UK trusts must also be recorded through HMRC’s Trust Registration Service, including some trusts that do not currently owe tax. Certain exclusions apply, so the registration position must be checked individually.

The trustees are generally responsible for registration, record-keeping, tax returns and paying tax due from the trust. Professional tax advice may be necessary for more complicated arrangements.

No. A complete estate plan should consider what happens both during your lifetime and after your death.

Your will governs how your estate is administered when you die, but it does not authorise anyone to manage your finances or make decisions for you while you are alive. Lasting Powers of Attorney can appoint trusted people to make financial or health and welfare decisions if you lose the capacity to make those decisions yourself.

Lifetime estate planning may also include gifting, trust arrangements, tax planning, succession planning for a family business and reviewing how property or other assets are owned.

Considering lifetime and death planning together helps prevent gaps. For example, your will may contain clear instructions, but your family could still face difficulties if no one has authority to manage your affairs during a period of illness or incapacity.

Estate planning is particularly important for blended families because the interests of a current spouse or partner may need to be balanced with those of children from an earlier relationship.

Simply leaving everything to your spouse may mean that your children do not eventually receive the inheritance you intended. Your spouse could later change their will, remarry, spend the assets or pass them to different beneficiaries. Conversely, leaving everything immediately to your children could leave your spouse without sufficient financial security.

A carefully structured will or trust can allow a spouse to benefit from property or income during their lifetime while preserving the underlying assets for children or other beneficiaries in the future.

Every blended family is different, so the plan should reflect property ownership, financial dependence, family relationships and your priorities. Clear professional drafting can also reduce uncertainty and the risk of disputes.

Leaving assets directly to a child gives them control of their inheritance once they reach the age specified in your will. However, this may not always provide the level of protection you want.

A trust can allow appointed trustees to manage the inheritance and control when or how it is distributed. This may be appropriate when a beneficiary is young, financially inexperienced, vulnerable or likely to require ongoing support.

Trust planning may also offer some protection where you are concerned about divorce, bankruptcy, financial pressure or assets passing outside the family following a beneficiary’s death or remarriage. The protection available will depend on the type of trust, its terms and how it is administered.

Trusts can involve tax, reporting and administrative responsibilities, so they should be created for a clear purpose and professionally drafted. The aim is to balance protection with sufficient flexibility for your children’s future needs.

Estate planning can help you understand how your home may be treated if you require residential care, but no legitimate arrangement can guarantee that your home will always be protected from care costs.

Giving away your property or transferring it into a trust primarily to avoid paying care fees may be treated as deliberate deprivation of assets. If a local authority decides that avoiding care charges was a significant reason for the transfer, it may assess you as though you still owned the property.

The timing, motivation and circumstances surrounding any transfer are therefore extremely important. Arrangements must also take account of your need for somewhere to live, your financial security and the tax and legal consequences of giving up ownership.

There may be appropriate planning options for couples or particular family circumstances, but these should only be considered following individual advice rather than through a standard “home protection” scheme.

You can give away money or assets during your lifetime, but the Inheritance Tax consequences depend on the type, value and timing of the gift.

Certain gifts can be made using annual or specific exemptions. Regular gifts made from surplus income may also be exempt if the relevant conditions are satisfied and you can maintain your normal standard of living.

Larger gifts are commonly subject to the seven-year rule. If you survive for seven years after making the gift, it will generally fall outside your estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. If you die sooner, some or all of its value may still be considered.

You must genuinely give up the asset. For example, giving your home to your children while continuing to live there rent-free can be treated as a gift with reservation and remain within your estate. Records of all significant gifts should be retained.

Effective estate planning may help reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax payable, although the right approach depends on your estate and family circumstances.

Possible strategies include using available exemptions, making appropriate lifetime gifts, leaving assets to a spouse or civil partner, making charitable gifts and using trusts where suitable. Married couples and civil partners may also be able to transfer unused tax-free allowances between their estates.

Under current rules, Inheritance Tax is normally charged at 40% on the part of an estate above the available threshold. Additional allowances may apply when a qualifying home is left to direct descendants. However, not every estate qualifies for every allowance, and giving assets away without advice can create unexpected tax or financial consequences.

Estate-planning advice can help identify legitimate opportunities while ensuring you retain sufficient assets for your own needs.

A good estate plan should be reviewed regularly rather than treated as a one-off exercise. As a general guide, review your arrangements every three to five years and whenever there is a significant change in your life.

Relevant changes include marriage, divorce, separation, the birth of a child or grandchild, bereavement, buying or selling property, starting or selling a business, receiving an inheritance or a substantial change in the value of your estate.

You should also review your plan if a beneficiary, executor, trustee or attorney dies, becomes unable to act or is no longer an appropriate choice.

Tax rules and legislation can change too, meaning arrangements that were suitable several years ago may no longer achieve their intended result. Regular reviews help ensure your will, trusts, Powers of Attorney and other planning continue to work together.

It is sensible to begin estate planning as soon as you have assets or people whom you want to protect. You do not need to wait until retirement or until your estate reaches a particular value.

Estate planning becomes especially important when you buy a property, marry, start a family, establish a business, receive an inheritance or enter a later-life relationship. Starting early gives you more options, particularly where lifetime gifts, trusts and inheritance tax planning are concerned.

Putting a plan in place also protects you if illness or an accident affects your ability to make decisions in the future. A will only deals with what happens after death, whereas Lasting Powers of Attorney can allow trusted people to assist with financial or welfare decisions during your lifetime.

The earlier you plan, the easier it is to review and adapt your arrangements as circumstances change.

An estate plan should be tailored to your assets, family circumstances and long-term wishes. It will usually begin with an up-to-date will stating who should inherit your estate and who will be responsible for administering it.

Depending on your circumstances, your plan may also include trusts to control or protect an inheritance, Lasting Powers of Attorney covering decisions made during your lifetime, lifetime gifting arrangements and inheritance tax planning.

You should also consider jointly owned property, pensions, life insurance, business interests, overseas assets and valuable personal possessions. It is helpful to keep a clear record of your assets, liabilities and important documents so that your executors or attorneys can locate them.

A professional estate-planning review can identify gaps and bring these separate arrangements together into one coordinated plan.

Estate planning is the process of deciding how your property, money and other assets should be managed during your lifetime and passed on after your death.

A comprehensive estate plan may include a professionally written will, trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney, inheritance tax planning, lifetime gifts and arrangements for particular beneficiaries.

Estate planning is important because it gives you greater control over who benefits from your wealth and when they receive it. It can also help protect vulnerable beneficiaries, provide for children from previous relationships, reduce avoidable tax and make the administration of your estate easier for your family.

Estate planning is not only for wealthy families. Anyone who owns a home, has savings, runs a business or wants to protect particular people can benefit from putting a suitable plan in place.

Do you have to include someone in your will if you don’t want to? No, you are not obligated to.

However, certain categories of people may be able to make a legal claim against your estate if they feel they should not have been excluded or not adequately provided for.
These categories may include your spouse, ex-spouse, partner, children, and any dependents you have.
Though this cannot be entirely avoided, it can be mitigated by giving a clear explanation in your will of why it was written out in its current form – as this will be taken into account if an action is brought against your estate. So if you have excluded a specific person from your will it would be worth documenting this when writing your will so your reasoning can be taken into account if the will is contested in court.
It is important that you are transparent with us while we draft this document and give us all the information about any familial considerations so we can provide our best guidance.

If you are in a cohabitation relationship and not married or in a partnership, your partner does not automatically inherit from you if you pass away. In order to ensure your partner can have access to any of your belongings and continue living in the property, it is important to make provision for them in a will. Writing a will is the only way to guarantee that their needs are taken care of upon your death.

Writing a will is an important step for protecting the wellbeing of your children. To ensure that minors are taken care of in your absence, you can appoint guardians who will look after them until they reach adulthood. Furthermore, if you feel that it may be premature for your children to receive their inheritance at the age of 18, then you can specify a later age in your will such as 21 or 25.
To manage the inheritance in the meantime, trustees could also be appointed to look after the money until the specified age.

This gives you peace of mind that your children will be cared for even if you’re not around.

Yes. For those who anticipate that their estate will be in excess of the current nil rate band limit of £325,000 or £500,000 if they live in their main residence; trusts are likely to be an effective method or minimising or even avoid inheritance tax.

Lasting Powers of Attorney are designed to provide the individual (donor) with the opportunity to choose other people to act on their behalf should they be incapacitated or unable to make decisions for them-selves; such as if the individual has Alzheimer’s.

If you are widowed, your current will remains valid but any gift that would have gone to your spouse lapses. This can dramatically change the effect of your will: for example, if your will left most of what you own to your spouse. Your best course is to draw up a new will.
Any subsequent marriage (or entry into a civil partnership) will completely invalidate your current will, unless that will was drawn up in the expectation of the marriage and mentions it. Unless this is the case, you need to draw up another will, preferably before the ceremony.
The same applies to any major changes in circumstances. If your will might no longer reflect your wishes, you need to update it.

Since 1 October 2014, when new intestacy laws came into force, if you die intestate (ie you die without making a will), fixed legal rules apply to determine who is entitled to your ‘estate’ (ie what you leave).

Under the rules, if you die intestate, your spouse (or civil partner if you are legally united in a civil partnership) will be entitled to everything.

These rules override any informal wishes you may have expressed. If, for instance, you want a portion of your estate to go to your siblings or if you wanted to leave a gift to the woman who comes to keep the garden under control, you need to put it in a will.

There is also the question of inheritance tax.

Even though assets passed to your spouse are exempt from inheritance tax on your death, you should consider what will happen when they die.

Between the two of you, you can pass on assets worth up to £650,000 (or £1,000,000, assuming you both live in your main residence) (see note 1) free of inheritance tax. If your spouse’s estate is likely to be greater than this, you should consider taking tax planning advice – which will often include advice to make a will, and probably setting up trusts to protect your assets from the taxman.

NOTE 1: An additional nil-rate allowance was introduced for main family homes that are passed to direct descendants (children, step children and grandchildren). The allowance is currently £175,000 each.
Where the value of the net estate (not just the property concerned) exceeds £2 million, this additional nil-rate allowance will be tapered away at a rate of £1 for every £2 of value. So, there is no such allowance on estates worth £2.35m (or worth £2.7m on the death of a surviving spouse where the full allowance is available to be transferred).

If you want to make a minor change, you can do it by adding a ‘codicil’ (a separate document which must be signed and witnessed like a will and is kept with your original will). For instance, you might want to leave a fine mirror to a friend or helper: that would make a suitable subject for a codicil. Codicils have to be signed and witnessed like the original will (though the witnesses can be different).
If you want to make more significant changes, however – perhaps because of the death of one of the original beneficiaries, or the birth of a new grandchild – you should draw up a new will.
What you should avoid doing, under any circumstances, is writing on the original will. That can create problems and might invalidate the will completely.

If your estate is very small (typically less than £5,000), your heirs may be able to claim their inheritance without formally applying for probate. Many banks and others will release relatively small sums without needing this, though they will usually want to see a sworn statement explaining the situation. They may also ask for an indemnity, making whoever claims the money liable if they were not in fact entitled to it. Take advice if you are not sure.
If you left a will but did not name the executors, or if none of your named executors is willing to act, then one of the beneficiaries under the will can apply for probate as an administrator. If you did not leave a will at all, members of your nearest family will inherit and can apply for probate. In both cases, there are rules setting out the pecking order for who can apply.
All this can add an extra layer of confusion, delay and potentially conflict. It makes much more sense to make sure that you do leave a will, naming your executors.

No. However, they can take their expenses (for example, for travelling, phone calls, employment of agents to track down missing beneficiaries, or even handing over to professional executors) from the estate, though they would have to keep details.
Executors can benefit under the will, and it is quite common for the principal beneficiaries to take on the job. In fact, appointing your principal beneficiaries as executors means they are already rewarded and they have a vested interest in getting things done fast and well – so they get their full entitlement sooner.

It is common for banks and solicitors to act as executors. Alternatively, the individuals you have chosen as executors might decide to ask a solicitor to help with the administration of the estate.
Individuals, particularly if they have just lost a loved one, can find being an executor difficult and time consuming. A professional executor has the expertise needed, but of course will charge a fee for their services. Fees are typically between 1-6% of the value of the estate, with banks tending to charge higher fees than solicitors or dedicated professional executors.

You can name as many executors as you like in your will, though the maximum number who can apply for probate to administer your estate is four. It makes sense to name at least two or three, in case any of them pre-decease you or later decide they do not want to (or cannot) act as an executor.
It’s common to ask friends or family to be executors. It makes sense to choose individuals who are good at administration, have a bit of financial sense, and are trustworthy. You may also want to consider naming a professional executor.

Your executors are the people who make it all happen after your death. Among other things, they have to:
• apply for a ‘Grant of Representation’ from the Probate Registry
• notify the bank(s), pension agencies, solicitor, utility companies, and other relevant parties
• arrange your funeral and pay for it (the money comes from your estate)
• arrange for the payment of any debts outstanding on your death
• identify the ‘beneficiaries’ (people who inherit under your will) and establish where they can be contacted
• close up the house (if necessary) and arrange for house clearance prior to a sale
• arrange for the valuation of your estate, including any objects (‘chattels’) of significant value
• liaise with the tax authorities on inheritance tax
• pay the inheritance tax due (an account should be delivered within twelve months of the death)
• arrange the distribution of bequests
• keep account of all transactions, and get the accounts signed off by the beneficiaries
As you will appreciate, this can be a very demanding job. If you want one of your family or friends to do it, be sure to ask them first whether they are willing to take on the responsibility. If you don’t, and one of them then refuses to do it after your death (as they are entitled to do), this could mean more work for the other executor(s) or may even mean that the responsibility falls to one of your beneficiaries.

They must be over 18, of sound mind, and able to see; but apart from that there are no restrictions. However, witnesses – and their spouse or civil partner – are not allowed to benefit under a will; so, do not ask your next-door neighbours to do it if you are leaving them something in your will.
If you are going to ask the window cleaner or a charity collector to witness your will, be sure to get their address. It is generally better to ask someone who can easily be traced.

They do not need to know what is in your will – they are merely witnessing your signature.

There are three requirements for a will to be legal.

1. It must be in writing. Telling a friend, relative or even your solicitor what your intentions are is not enough.
2. You must sign it.
3. When you sign it, there must be at least two other people present to witness your signature.

In addition, you should date it, specify that previous wills (if any) are ‘revoked’ (cancelled), and name your executor(s).
Make sure you give sufficient information about particular possessions intended for particular individuals, to ensure that they can be identified. ‘To my niece, the picture she likes in the living room’, for instance, would be a problem if there are six pictures and two nieces.

You should give details of the beneficiaries, including the address of each of them, if possible.
Generally, your will should be clear on what will happen to a bequest if the beneficiary pre-deceases you. For example, whether it lapses, goes to their children (and in what proportions), or goes to someone else instead. When you leave a bequest to a class of people, such as ‘my grandchildren living at my death’, make it clear whether that includes unborn children, so pregnancies are covered.
And you should say where you want the ‘residue’ (everything left over, once the specific bequests have been satisfied) to go.
Finally, it is desirable to leave details of your possessions (or at least, an indication of where such details can be found) with your will.

If you own relatively little, and intend to make straightforward bequests, you may feel that you can make a will without using an advisor. Bear in mind, however, that there are pitfalls: for example, if you get the formalities wrong. In these circumstances, getting a professionally draw up your will costs relatively little and will give you peace of mind.

In some circumstances you would be very unwise to draw up a will without an advisor. For instance, if:
• Your heirs include a child or children under 18, or a disabled adult. In such cases, you may need to set up a trust for them, and appoint guardians.
• Your heirs are elderly or ailing.
• Your estate is likely to be worth more than £325,000 and you have no spouse or civil partner to leave it to, so that all the excess is potentially subject to inheritance tax.
• You want to leave specific sums of money, or items of value – perhaps sentimental – to particular friends or relatives.
• You own property overseas – particularly land.

If you and your partner are not married or legally united in a civil partnership, your partner will not be automatically entitled to any of the assets owned in your sole name when you die – no matter how long your relationship has been – unless you make a will.

Instead, your estate will be divided among your children (or other more distant relatives if you have no children). Even if you have no relatives, your estate will pass to the Crown rather than to your partner. So, DON’T DIE, without making a will.

Your partner might be able to claim some of your assets if they are in need or were financially dependent on you. But to ensure that your partner inherits, a will is essential.

If you have assets of less than £322,000, and die intestate (ie without making a will), then your spouse or civil partner will be entitled to the whole of your estate (ie what you leave). The children get nothing.

If you die intestate with assets worth more than £322,000, and with children (including children from other relationships and adopted children, but not stepchildren unless you adopted them), your spouse (or civil partner) is entitled to:
• your ‘personal effects’ (household goods, car, tools etc)
• the first £322,000 of your other assets
• half of what’s left

Your children are entitled to the other half, equally. If any of your children pre-decease you, then their share is divided equally between their children.

So if, for example, you were married with two children, and died intestate leaving £350,000 as follows:
• your personal effects
• a house worth £300,000
• £50,000 in your bank accounts
your spouse would be entitled to your personal effects, and the first £250,000 of your assets. However, the remaining £100,000 would have to be split. Your spouse (or civil partner) would be entitled to half of it, and your children would be entitled to £25,000 each (on reaching age 18). If, say, one of them had pre-deceased you, leaving two children, they would split their parent’s share, getting £12,500 each.

If your children (or grandchildren) wanted their share immediately, and your spouse did not have the cash available, he (or she) could, potentially, be forced to sell the house.

From a legal perspective, no; however, if you do die without a will (intestate) it will make matters difficult for those around you to deal with your estate no matter how small. It will invariably create stress and will prolong the situation. A well written will is not expensive and it is the responsible route to take.

Your will remains valid but any provision in favour of your former spouse ceases to apply once the divorce is finalised. You should draw up a new will.
Bear in mind that your spouse remains a beneficiary until the ‘decree absolute’ has been granted – so you might want to draw up a new will straight away if you are in the process of divorcing. Conversely, a former spouse may still be entitled to make a claim against your estate if they are in financial need or were financially dependent on you, even if you have excluded them from your will.

The answer to this question depends partly on the status of the children in question. If they can prove that they were dependent on you or are in financial need, and that you have not properly provided for them in your will, they may be able to persuade a court to make provision for them from your estate.
If you intend to do anything that might appear to be unfair, you should provide reasons. For example, you might explain that you are excluding your older son because he had his share when he was setting up in business.

Yes, but you cannot leave money to an animal. If you have made arrangements for your pet, you should include this in your will, otherwise the executors may decide on some other course in ignorance of your intentions.
If you wish to provide for your pets, and can spare the capital, you could set up a simple trust, with the income going to support them during their lifetime, and the capital going to another beneficiary – for instance, an animal charity – after their death. However, the trust’s income and capital gains would be subject to tax, and you might have difficulty finding anyone prepared to act as a trustee.
Alternatively, you could leave your pet(s) with a cash sum to a named legatee (someone you can trust to give them a good home). Or you could leave them with a cash sum to an appropriate animal charity, such as The Cinnamon Trust or the RSPCA which runs a re-homing programme. If you opt for this solution, be sure to put an appropriate clause in your will – the RSPCA, for example, provides one on its website.

That depends on the terms on which the shares were granted in the first place. These will be in the company’s articles of association. For public companies, a transfer of shares to your spouse (or any other beneficiary who is over 18) will invariably be allowed. Private companies’ articles will generally be more restrictive – and, if the shareholders have entered into a shareholders’ agreement, it may also regulate what you are allowed to do with your shares. Common terms are that:
• the directors can refuse to register a transfer of your shares to anyone (including your spouse)
• the shares must be offered to the other shareholders before they can be transferred to your beneficiary
• the shares can be transferred under your will, but only if the transfer is to a member of your family (which would include your spouse), or to family trusts
If shares cannot be transferred to your spouse, or other beneficiary, because of these restrictions, they usually become entitled to the cash equivalent instead, unless your will says the gift lapses in those circumstances. Take legal advice.

Providing that you have gone through a legally binding ceremony, your civil partner will have exactly the same rights as a spouse would.
Registration of the civil partnership (like marriage) invalidates any existing will, unless the will was drawn up in expectation of this registration. If you have not registered the civil partnership, and have not made a will, your partner will not be automatically entitled to anything. So, if you are planning to register a civil partnership, have registered a civil partnership without considering the impact on your will, or have not made a will anyway, take advice.

The law in England and Wales says that the law governing foreign property (land, buildings etc) is the law of the country in which the property is situated. Whether you can dispose of that property in your UK will, or you need to make a local will, depends on the law of the country in which your property is situated. Often you will need to make two wills – one in the UK and one abroad – and the two must be consistent.
A particular danger to look out for is the ‘forced heirship’ rules that apply in some countries. These say that a proportion of your property must pass by law to certain of your heirs (often only those in your bloodline – not your spouse’s family), whatever your wishes, and whatever it says in your will.
Another is inheritance tax. Land and buildings, in particular, are likely to be liable to local inheritance tax in the country where they are situated. Foreign inheritance tax can be punitively high, particularly if your beneficiaries are not family members.
You will also have to obtain a valuation of the property for the purposes of probate.
This is a very complex area of law – take specialist advice.

Generally, it becomes part of your residue (ie what is left over, after any specific bequests have been satisfied) and so will pass to whoever your will says is entitled to the residue, unless you make specific provision to the contrary.

Not if you want to leave it to him (or her) in a will, which becomes a public document. You will have to make other provision during your lifetime: for example, you might arrange for your friend to benefit under a life assurance policy (though he or she would still need a copy of your death certificate to be able to claim the money).

Your executor(s) or administrator(s) will be responsible for the payment of any tax due on your death. This can include any outstanding income tax (on your earnings before death), capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
If your estate is worth less than £325,000, there is no inheritance tax. If your estate is worth more than this, however, inheritance tax at 40% may be payable. (This is reduced to 36% if more than 10% of the estate is left to charity.) Your executors will not normally be able to obtain probate and start distributing your bequests until HM Revenue & Customs have received some or all of the required inheritance tax.
In establishing the value of the estate, HM Revenue and Customs will require the inclusion of:
• personal effects of any value, for example your car(s), paintings, jewellery, antique rugs or furniture
• your house
• any other property
• any investments
• the contents of your bank and savings accounts
• the proceeds of any life assurance policies (other than policies ‘written in trust’ for other people)
• gifts – apart from those made under the annual allowances (see below) – made within the past seven years
• in some cases, trust property from which you benefit
• foreign property
Since April 2017, your personal home will benefit from a transferable nil-rate band when it is passed to a ‘direct descendant’ (including step-children). The allowance is being phased in and will be worth £175,000 by 2020/21. This will give a potential inheritance tax threshold of £1 million for married couples by 2020/21, but the nil-rate band gradually reduces for estates with a value of over £2 million.
If you own assets jointly on your death, such as your house or a joint bank account, there are rules that determine which proportion of those assets is treated as part of your estate for the purposes of calculating its value for inheritance tax purposes. Usually, if you are one of two joint owners, you are treated as owning half, if one of three, a third, etc.

Furthermore, the following are deducted from the value of your estate when calculating inheritance tax:
• your debts, if any (including, for instance, closing bills from the utility companies)
• the costs of your funeral
• any gifts to your spouse (or civil partner)
• any gifts to a registered charity
• any gifts ‘for national purposes’
• wedding gifts: up to £5,000 to a child, £2,500 to a grandchild, or £1,000 to anyone else
• gifts of up to £3,000 to any one person in any one year
• gifts of up to £250 in any one year to any number of people
• regular gifts or payments out of income (ie gifts that were made without needing to dip into your capital)
• gifts made more than seven years before your death

Providing all your beneficiaries agree, and they act within two years of your death, yes, they can – though it can be particularly complicated if any beneficiaries are under the age of 18.

It is safer, if possible, for you to review your will on a regular basis, and certainly whenever relevant tax or probate rules change.

The cost of making a will is generally quite moderate, although it does depend on how complicated the provisions are. Ask for an estimate of the cost before you start.

You should keep the original somewhere safe and off your premises – for example, with your bank or your solicitor. You can also file your will at the Probate Registry – although if you alter it, or make a new will, and don’t tell them, it can create problems for your executors when they apply for probate or letters of administration on the basis of a different will. Your executors will need the original when they apply for probate, not a copy.
If an advisor draws up your will in the first place, they can keep the original and give you a copy.

Probate is the process through which the executor(s) or administrators of your estate get permission to deal with it. Being named in the will, or being the nearest next of kin and therefore entitled to be administrator, is only the first step: before they can actually do anything with your assets and liabilities, they need a ‘Grant of Probate’ (if you have left a will) or ‘Letters of Administration’ (if you haven’t) from the Probate Registry.
Before they can get that, however, they need at least a good estimate of the values of your assets and liabilities, so the better your affairs are organised, the faster probate will be granted.
The Probate Registry will examine the application from your executors (or administrators), and may ask questions. After this, the Probate Registry will prepare an oath for your executors to sign confirming the validity of the information given, and their commitment to deal with your estate in a right and proper manner, in a standard form sworn statement. This can be sworn at the Probate Registry or at the office of any commissioner of oaths – usually a local solicitor.
The ‘Grant of Probate’ or ‘Letters of Administration’ can then be shown to anyone being asked to release your money or other assets.

There are several things you can do to make the process as simple as possible.
• Prepare a schedule of your current assets, date it, and give approximate values. This doesn’t have to be all your assets – just those with some monetary value. Provide details of any subsequent purchases or disposals.
• Prepare a schedule of your current debts, and date that too. Provide details if you subsequently add to or reduce any non-recurring debts (for example, if you pay off your mortgage).
• Provide details (name, address and telephone number) of your bank(s), stockbroker(s) if any, accountant(s) if any, and solicitors. Make a note of your bank account numbers too, but for security keep it separate – give it to your executor, or at least tell them where it is.
• Provide a list of your utility providers (gas, electricity, water, telephone and cable or satellite), with addresses, phone numbers and account numbers.
• Decide what kind of a funeral you want, and if possible, who is to be employed to provide it. Provide instructions for your executors and your next of kin.
• Provide precise details of the chattels you are leaving to individual beneficiaries, in sufficient detail to ensure that there can be no doubt about what it is you intend to leave to whom.
• Provide a list of your favourite charities/charity shops, so that your executors can dispose of some of your remaining chattels there, before the house clearance people come in.
• Provide a list of your beneficiaries, with their current addresses and telephone numbers. Stay in touch with them, so that you can amend their details if necessary.
Keep all this information together, and tell your executors where it and your will are kept.
Insofar as it is possible to do so, clear out your unwanted possessions (keeping anything promised in your will). In particular, go through your papers and throw out or at least store logically any that are now out of date – otherwise your executors could be tied up for weeks going through them.