writing-my-will

A Will is set of instructions telling your Executors what to do with your assets when you die. You can also include information and instructions about you funeral arrangements.

The majority of people choose to keep their Will as simple and to gift all their estate rather than try to break it down into individual amounts or items. However, you may gift:

a) property - as an outright gift or to give someone the use only of it for a time, for instance, until they remarry, with the proviso that once they have remarried the house is to be sold and the proceeds shared among other members of your family nominated by you

b) all your house contents (chattels) or individual items

c) specific cash sums - with or without an inflation adjustment

d) specific investments such as shares, ISAs, Peps, tessas

e) businesses - either as a gift or the first option to buy it from your estate

f) residue - that is what is left after all other gifts have been made and all your outstanding liabilities have been paid, including your expenses such as funeral costs, probate fees and Inheritance Tax.

You can say precisely what you want to happen to your estate. You can make special "thank you" gifts of money. You can create gifts of personal belongings that are special to you and the person to whom they are given. You can also make gifts to charities that are free of Inheritance Tax.

You can appoint Guardians to look after your young children and you can choose who you want to be your Executors and Trustees. Your Will is a list of your instructions on how you want your estate to be distributed and can include your instructions regarding your funeral.

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Yes, a letter could be as legal as a Will.

But, it would need to be signed, dated and witnessed in accordance with certain legal rules and would be invalid if not. Also, it could be contested if the wording of the Will is ambiguous.

It is always best to have your Will professionally drawn up. Solicitors and Barristers make a lot of money each year from unhappy family members defending or attacking DIY Wills that were badly written.

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You may think that Writing My Will is something to out off, but it is really is worth getting done to make sure that everything is in order. Should your estate be more than £5,000 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or £25,000 before debts (Scotland) then your next of kin must apply to the courts for the power to sort out your estate. This is called 'letters of administration'.

If you had a Will then your executors would apply to the Probate Registry office for a 'grant of probate' instead.

The 'rules of intestacy' (i.e. the government) when there is no Will. These state who should get what amount depending on the total net value of your estate.

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