Wills: Everything you need to know

EMW

18th January 2022

A Will is a legal document that ensures that your estate passes, in a tax efficient manner, to those you wish to benefit. This could include making gifts to family, friends, dependants or for charitable purposes.

Without a Will, your estate may be divided in accordance with intestacy rules, which may be in contrast to your own wishes and could result in those who you had wanted to benefit from your estate being left without on your death.

Alternatively, if you have an outdated Will, your estate will pass under the terms of it, which could result in your estate potentially passing to individuals whom you may not want inheriting your wealth.

A claim can also be made against someone’s estate after they have died. These types of claims continue to increase year on year and so it is crucial to ensure you have a Will drafted so that your wishes are clearly documented.

Your Will would typically cover multiple points, including: Appointing Executors, Legacies, Trusts and Residue of your Estate. 

In order to ensure that your Will is valid, to reduce the chance of claims against your estate, and to ensure that your personal circumstances are taken into account we strongly advise instructing a legal professional to work together with you when drafting your Will.

Find out more

For a more indepth review of what’s included in a Will, make sure you check out our recent update here: https://bit.ly/3GEUagt

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with Daniel Wilson, Principal in our Estate Planning, Tax & Trust team, if you have any queries.