Wills Guide

Executors

You must appoint Executors to carry out the instructions in your Will. Executors are often called Trustees in your Will as sometimes they hold money "on trust"; e.g. if you have children under the age of 18. It is wise to have two Executors and you may appoint a member of your family or a friend. Partnership members of our firm will be pleased to act as your Executors either alone or with a member of your family or friend.

Guardians

If you have children under 18 you may want to appoint one or two people to act as guardians. As guardianship involves a great deal of responsibility you should ask people to agree to act before appointing them. It would be advisable for them to be different persons from the Executors.

Funeral Directions

You may specify in your Will if you wish to be cremated or buried.

Beneficiaries

The main part of your estate is called "the residue". Before disposing of this you may wish to consider making specific gifts of cash or personal items (jewellery) to individual people, organisations or Charities.

The residue is all that you own in your sole name(other than the above gifts) and after deduction of funeral expenses and debts.
Here are some common examples of gifts of residue:

• To one person (husband/wife/partner).
• To several people (children, grandchildren, other relatives, friends).
• To Charity. Where there is more than one beneficiary this can be in equal or unequal shares.
• You should also consider who should benefit if a beneficiary dies before you e.g. the beneficiary's children.
• If there is an infant beneficiary consider the age when he or she can have the gift e.g. 18, 21 or 25.

Intestacy

If you die Intestate i.e. without leaving a Will, your house, personal belongings, money in the bank and other investments could pass to a member of your family …. but not necessarily the one you would choose! At worst, the State could be entitled to everything you own!

Relatives of the Intestate who may benefit on intestacy are as follows:-

1. A spouse/civil partner
2. Issue (i.e. children or remoter lineal descendants)
3. Parent(s)
4. Brother(s) or sister(s) of the whole blood or their issue
5. Brother(s) or sister(s) of the half blood or their issue
6. Grandparent(s)
7. Uncle(s) or aunt(s) of the whole blood or their issue
8. Uncle(s) or aunt(s) of the half blood or their issue
9. The Crown, Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall

There is an Order of Distribution which applies to people who die without Wills.

1. If you leave a spouse/civil partner who survives you by 28 days and you have no other relatives in the above list then your spouse/civil partner will take the whole of your estate.
2. If you leave a spouse/civil partner and children, your spouse/civil partner will be entitled to your personal chattels, a fixed net sum of £250,000 from your estate together with interest thereon from the date of your death and a life interest in one half of the balance of your estate. The other half of your estate will pass to your children.
3. If you leave a spouse/civil partner, no issue but a relative included in the above list then your spouse/civil partner will be entitled to your personal chattels, a fixed net sum of £450,000 together with interest and one half of the balance of your estate. The other half of your estate will pass to that relative.
4. If you have no spouse/civil partner or issue surviving you but one of the above relatives, then that relative will take the whole of your estate and, if more than one in the same class, they will share your estate equally.
5. If you die intestate without leaving a surviving spouse/civil partner, issue or other specified relative then your estate will pass to the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or Cornwall.

Claimants Against Your Estate

Although you are free to dispose of your estate as you wish, if you fail to make provision for someone who is a dependent, e.g. a spouse/civil partner, children, cohabitant, they could make a claim against your estate when you die under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. We can advise you about potential claimants and what steps you could take to prevent a claim.