Why Should I Write A Will?

If you die without a Will (and statistics suggest that about 70% of UK citizens either have no Will, or that the Will they have is out of date or inadequate) those you leave behind will have a difficult time of it! A bereavement brings with it enough emotional and practical problems of its own to have financial and legal ones added to it.

If you die without a Will and are not married and have no children, then your entire estate is divided between your parents. If they’ve passed on, then it is divided between your brothers and sisters. No siblings? Then it’s the grandparents, otherwise aunts and uncles. With no surviving relatives, then the Estate goes to the State. If you die unmarried with children, then they get the estate when they are 18 or if they get married before that.

If you die without a Will and you are married, then what happens depends on the value of your estate. If it is worth under £125,000, then the surviving spouse gets the entire estate. Over £125,000 then there are two possibilities: with children, your spouse gets the first £125k plus interest, and a life interest in half the residue – the remainder goes to your children on reaching 18 or before that if they get married; with no children your household contents and personal effects go to your spouse, plus the first £200k plus interest and half the residue – the other half I divided between your parents, and if no parents survive, then your brothers and sisters (if none of these relatives are alive, then it goes back to the spouse).

So why die without a Will? It’s relatively straight forward to have one written, and provides peace of mind to the person writing it. Getting your affairs in order really helps your surviving relatives – they will know what you wanted to happen to your estate. Wills can incorporate Trusts that can enable the writer to minimise the amount of the Estate that the chancellor can get his hands on; that can ensure that your children are provided for; that can protect half the value of your property after your death in the event of the surviving spouse having to go into care; that can provide for disabled children’s care; and so on.

Remember, a Will is a formal legal declaration that sets out the writer’s wishes as to how they want their assets distributed when they die; it does not come into effect until the writer dies; if you leave something to someone in a Will, it’s entirely up to them what they do with the gift (unless it is held in Trust).

Andrew is an agent for Collective Legal Solutions (9954) who can be contacted on 0845 658 2924. For further information on this and other Will related subjects visit the Collective Legal Solutions website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Carter