When you’re young a full of life, energy, and excitement about the future, the thought of writing a will probably don’t even come to mind. As you progress through your career, buy a property, get married, and start to have a family, thoughts about what would happen should you meet an early demise might start to invade your thinking as you sit in the half-light of the early hours feeding your newborn.
What would happen if you die without making a will
Here’s the thing – if you were to pass away without making a will, it could actually cause unnecessary complications and stress for your family – particularly if you and your partner decided not to get married after all and simply cohabit.
Not making a will means that you will die ‘intestate.’ In effect, your ‘estate’ may not go to the people that you want it to go to, as it will be subject to intestacy rules, which follow stringent rules.
In short, if you are married with children, then the first £250,000 of your estate will automatically go to your partner, with the remaining share split 50/50 between your partner and your children. If you are not married, even if you have been together for several years, then your estate automatically goes to either your children or to other members of your family if there are no children.
This can leave your partner in a vulnerable position – especially if they have not got any property in their name.
Can my will be contested?
The process of contesting a will is quite specific, and if someone were to contest your will, then they would need to fulfill some specific criteria in order to do so. Someone contesting your will might believe that you:
- Wrote it under duress
- Wrote it under circumstances that are legally invalid
- Wrote is a result of fraud.
Only those direct family members, beneficiaries, those owed money, or those expecting a share of the inheritance can contest the will.
How do I go about writing a will?
The less you have, the simpler the process of writing a will. However, it is also worth pointing out that will write for more complex situations is a service that can be done online these days – so if you are seeking a will writing service in Coventry, for example, then you can search and compare different providers who work all over the UK – you do not have to stick to your local geographical location.
Evaluate your estate
You need to let the will writer have a breakdown of all your assets and liabilities. Your assets will include your property, any savings, stocks and shares, investment trusts, bitcoins, pension funds, cars, jewelry, and antiques. It can also include sentimental items or instructions that you want to make sure go to chosen people.
As part of the process, you also need to include any debts and liabilities. These include any outstanding mortgages on property, unpaid credit card bills, overdrafts, and loans.
Obviously, your financial situation can change over time, and it is important to keep on top of it as you evolve through life. It is good practice to get in the habit of updating your will on an annual basis alongside completing tax returns to make sure that your affairs are in a consistent and constant order.
Choose your beneficiaries
All that is then left to do is to choose who is going to benefit from your estate in the event of your death, and your will writer will do the rest.