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| The principal purpose of making a Will maybe for you to ensure what
will happen to your property, possessions and money after you die.
For some people more emotional issues, such as guardianships, are
important. With a Will If you have made a valid Will it will be operative from your death and your assets and estate will pass in accordance with that Will. It is therefore essential that you review your Will on a regular basis to ensure that it is up-to-date and an accurate record of your wishes. Without a Will It is a common misconception that everything passes to a husband or wife if you die without having made a will. This is not strictly true. If you die without having made a Will you will be said to die ‘intestate’. In this event rules made by Parliament will govern how your money, property and possessions are divided between your ‘family’. These rules are mostly inflexible and can often produce financial difficulties for those you leave behind at a time when such problems are least wanted. Occasionally, people die with no living relatives who qualify as a beneficiary on intestacy, and in such cases their estate goes to the Crown as ‘bona vacantia’ . Now, there’s a thought! If you haven’t made a Will this is what will happen: Married Person With Children: Your spouse will get everything up to £125,000 plus personal possessions. Anything remaining is divided in two:-
If you have parents, brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, your spouse gets everything up to £200,000 plus personal possessions. Anything remaining is divided in two:-
If you are unmarried you cannot leave your property to your partner unless you make a Will. Single Person: If you have no immediate living relatives your entire estate will go to the Crown. Why Everyone Should Make A Will To Ensure Control By making a Will you are ensuring that you have control over your assets and who with benefit from them after your death. Without a Will the ‘intestacy rules’ will apply and your estate may pass to members of your family who you do not wish to benefit. To reduce Inheritance Tax Liability Under the current tax rules any assets passing to a spouse on death are free of inheritance tax. An individual can also leave assets worth up to £250,000 which will not be subject to inheritance tax. The portion of £250,000 which can pass to a non- spouse tax-free is known as the nil rate band. Using The Nil Rate Band: A typical married couple will want to pass all their assets to the surviving spouse on the first death. The spouse exemption will apply and there will be no inheritance tax liability. The survivor will then have their own assets and those they have inherited from their spouse. On the second death all the assets will be subject to inheritance tax and after allowing for the nil rate band inheritance tax will be payable at 40%. The nil rate band which was available on the first death will have been wasted as no assets passed to non-spouse beneficiaries. By using the nil rate band on the first death the inheritance tax bill on the second death can be reduced by up to £100,000. After You Have Made Your Will We will store it free of charge in our Deeds Storage. We recommend that you reconsider your will every few years just to make sure that there have been no changes in your circumstances, those of your Beneficiaries in the law or the tax regime which would make alterations desirable. Never try to alter a Will yourself by crossing bits out or putting bits in – changes made in this way will almost certainly be invalid. Even if you want to cancel your Will altogether, don’t try to do this yourself – your attempt may not succeed, and even if it does it would leave questions in people’s minds. Automatic Revocation of Will
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