It's really important for everyone to have a will. By making a Will, you will take control of your finances and make sure that your loved ones are provided for in the future, while you are still living or after you have passed on.
If it happens that you die without making a Will, your money, property and other possessions will be distributed to your family according to the current law and not necessarily the way you wanted. It's usually a mistake to believe that a spouse will inherit their partner’s estate or possessions upon their death. If you are married with children, and your estate is worth more than £250,000, then this may not be the case, your children may also be entitled to a share of your estate.
Setting up a Will before you pass on could be one of the most important things you ever do...
Your Will can give guidance and specify who you would wish to take on the role of guardian....
It must therefore be properly drafted in a legal and clear manner to ensure your wishes are carried...
Once approved and signed, we can arrange to store your Will in safe custody at no cost to you.
If it happens that you die without making a Will, your money, property and other possessions will be distributed to your family according to the current law and not necessarily the way you wanted. It’s usually a mistake to believe that a spouse will inherit their partner’s estate or possessions upon their death. If you are married with children, and your estate is worth more than £250,000, then this may not be the case, your children may also be entitled to a share of your estate. This can be very unsettling and worrying because there’s a chance that you find yourself with very little or nothing at all. It’s common for surviving spouses to lose their home as a result of their partner dying without a valid will.
Setting up a Will before you pass on could be one of the most important things you ever do for your loved ones you’ll be leaving behind. Doing so enables you to appoint someone, an executor, to deal with the practicalities of administering your estate; this could be your spouse, another relative, a friend or a professional executor. Lawrence and Associates Solicitors will point you in the right direction and advise you as to whom it may be most appropriate to appoint for this role.
Making a Will also allow you to provide for those people who would not automatically inherit your estate upon your death, like if you have a partner, but you are unmarried. In this case, it is important to make sure your partner is financially protected in your Will; otherwise, a surviving partner inherits nothing under intestacy (dying without a valid will) and could lose their home as a result.
In case you have underage children, your Will can give guidance and specify who you would wish to take on the role of guardian until your children come of age. A Will can also safeguard and provide for vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries, by ensuring an adequate and strong trust is set up for them. In other instances, if you have children from a previous relationship, we advise that you include additional provisions within your Will to protect your assets for your children in the future.
Additionally, we also offer advice on inheritance tax and guidance on your options for mitigating your inheritance tax liability.
Given that a will is an important document, it must therefore be properly drafted in a legal and clear manner to ensure your wishes are correctly carried out.
Lawrence & Associates Solicitors LLP can appoint a solicitor to help you at our office or if you are unable to reach us, we can come to you at home or in hospital. Together we can discuss your requirements and provide in-depth legal advice as to your options on the appointment of executors and guardians, making of gifts and the distribution of your residuary estate. We will look at your financial situation, assets and any other possession in order for us to properly advise you on your tax position and consider any trust options that may be relevant to you.
If you are happy with all our suggestions and ideas, we’ll prepare a draft Will for your approval before organising to see you again to sign the final copy of the will. For validity, your Will have to be signed in front of two appropriate witnesses, and we can help you with that too.
Once approved and signed, we can arrange to store your Will in safe custody at no cost to you.