Jargon

Terminology

People think Solicitors often speak a foreign language full of technical legal jargon. If you have not made a Will before you may find it useful to read the following explanation of legal terms associated with your Will.

1. Why should I make a Will?

A Will is perhaps the most important legal document you can make during your lifetime.

It is the only way in which you control what happens to your estate and affairs when you are no longer here. Therefore people who own assets, whether it be houses, savings or personal possessions should be making a Will to specify who you would like to benefit.

Anyone with children should be making a Will to appoint Guardians and make financial provision for them.

A Will can even be used to specify your funeral arrangements.

By having a Will you have Peace of Mind that all of your affairs are taken care of when you are no longer here and your family or loved ones will be able to resolve your matters quickly and easily.  

2. What happens if I don’t make a Will?

If you don’t make a Will there are only disadvantages:

The intestacy rules control who will benefit from your estate which may not be who you intend to benefit or could even be the state! Your relatives will have to apply to the courts to administer your estate – a far more lengthy and costly process than if you had written a will- and unfortunately this often leads to legal disputes over people who think they should be entitled to your property.

 For example If you are married and have children your husband or wife will only receive £125,000 outright with the rest going into trusts AND If you are not in a Civil Partnership or married but have a partner or cohabiting partner then he or she will not receive anything.

If you have children under 18 without a surviving parent and have not appointed Guardians then you do not have any say in who will look after them.

3. I am only in my 20’s – should I make a Will?

That really depends on your personal circumstances. At a young age people ordinarily do not think about making a Will, however you should do in the following circumstances:

1. If you have bought a property or have savings.
2. You may have young children or be a single parent.
3. If you are in a serious relationship – would you want to provide for your partner?
4. If you are in the armed forces
5. If you travel a lot through work or leisure.

We all like to think that we will die peacefully in old age but unfortunately that is not always the case.  For less than the price as a night out you could make a Will.

4. Inheritance Tax?

Inheritance tax is payable against an estate at death at 40% in excess of the current Nil Rate Band. Before your estate can be distributed the tax man wants his share.

Each person is entitled to a Nil Rate Band, currently £312,000 before IHT is applied, subject to any gifts you may have made in the 7 years preceding death.

Gifts between civil partner and married couples are tax exempt but this can still result in a large slice of IHT either on your own death or the death of your partner.  If for example you pass everything to your partner, their estate when they die may be considerably in excess of £312,000.

A surviving husband, wife or civil partner will be able to utilise the unused proportion of their partners Nil Rate Band. In some circumstances this will assist any Inheritance Tax burden amongst couples but it would still be wise to seek legal advice.

There are numerous simple methods to reduce your Inheritance Tax liability, both by simple lifetime planning and under a Will, but if you don’t have a Will your family could be handing over a large cheque to the taxman.

5. I only have a few mementoes?

People often wish to leave family member for friends a keepsake to help remember them by or a thank you for their friendship or help. 

If you want to pass mementoes onto specific people then you need to be making a Will to ensure that this happens. If not, a treasured keepsake with meaning to one person may end up in the bottom of the bin.

Rather than specific items, you might wish to leave a specific sum of money to certain people or your favourite charity and again you need a Will do this.

6. What happens when people contest my Will?

There are several reasons a Will can be contested.

Formalities in the creation of a Will have to be observed and one simple error can make the whole Will invalid and open to challenge.

Certain family members or co-habitees can make a claim against your estate. A spouse, civil partner or ex spouse who has not remarried. Someone who you have been cohabiting with for over 2 years, a child or someone who has been maintained by you may all have grounds to challenge.

You may have valid reasons for choosing to exclude certain people from you Will or making specific gifts which you think your family may object but without making a Will and taking qualified legal advice this might be overturned in Court.

As much as we like to think people will respect our wishes there is nothing like money to cause an argument. It results in a delay to the finalisation of your affairs and can cost thousands of pounds in legal fees. 

Therefore it is vital that you take qualified legal advice when making a Will.

7. If my circumstances change what happens?

If your circumstances change then your Will may be automatically made invalid or the gifts you made under an old Will might no longer apply to your current circumstances.

Normally a Will remains valid until it is revoked by the creation of a new Will or destroyed. The big warning however is Marriage that automatically revokes a Will and unless you have renewed it your estate will follow the intestacy rules.

You may be in the process of separation or divorce.  If something happened to you would you still want your ex wife or partner to benefit from your Will.

You might have started a family or had further children who may not be included under the original will to benefit from your estate or to nominate guardians.

People you have left gifts to or nominated as guardians or Executors of the Will may have passed away and cause a partial intestacy where the law governs what happens as if you do not have a Will for these gaps.