3 Reasons Why You NEED to Write a Will
We don't like to think about it it, but have you made yours or are you like me and so far hasn't sat down and sorted things out. I'm in a position where I am single and have no children, so to me it's less of a 'must do'. It's one of those things that will eventually get done, because ultimately we don't know when our time will come and we don't want to put our family members in the hideous position of dealing with our estate, when we're grieving and having to make decisions that really need consideration and time. Let me tell you though, it's singly the most important document that you will ever produce and will stop all sorts of problems and issues when you die. I know this first hand, my Mum died nearly fives years ago and she didn't have an up to date Will. The last Will that she did was back in the late 1980's, so was totally out of date, her circumstances had changed significantly and she wasn't even living in the same part of the country, let alone in the same house. What I do know, because she didn't have an up to date Will, its caused immeasurable and irreconcilable differences since.
When my mum wrote her Will she wasn't in a relationship, she didn't have the home that she was living in when she died, which she owned outright, the vast majority of the possessions in the house belonged to her. When her Will was read everything was left to my brother and I; you'd think where's the problem?? The problem is that she was in a relationship, although not married, she had a joint business with her partner and because none of this wasn't in an up to date Will this is where the problems lie.
Nobody is ever prepared for the death of a loved one; you're not prepared for the grief and the impact that it has on you, and the last thing you're thinking about are the practicalities, so having it all set out in a Will will lessen the burden on the loved ones who are left behind after you die.
My situation now five years after Mum's death is that we still have the house because her partner is living there, rent free, so the upkeep of the house is a responsibility too. I have no legal rights to go into the house to collect possessions that belong to the family and I have no right to take possessions that were left to me in the Will. My brother and I are joint owners of the house and this means that we have to agree on decisions about the house and this has caused a lot of problems to the extent now that we are no longer speaking. I can't move house without the expense of having to pay additional Stamp Duty, because I have a second home, even though I have currently receive no financial benefit from the it. None of this would have happened if the Will had been kept up to date.
3 Reasons to have a Will
#1 By writing a Will you are taking away problems with your assets once you die. It takes away that added stress from your recipients during the grieving period; nobody needs the hassle and the inevitable arguments about who gets what. You'd like to think that everybody would have the morals that you have, but unfortunately this just isn't the case and when there's money and assets involved people change.
#2 You get to decide who should benefit from your assets once you die, and decide who won't, which is now what I'm thinking about, but it's there in black and white.
#3 It allows you to put down in writing your wishes for your funeral, what hymns/songs you would like played, what type of funeral you'd like.
Once you've written your Will the most important thing is to make sure that it is kept up to date and that somebody knows where your Will is. Most solicitors and will companies can add your Will to a database, so that in the event of your death it can be traced, but it is not a legal requirement to do so. Mum's Will wasn't registered, so it was a case of going through letters, that thankfully she'd kept, and eventually we traced a Will.
There are couple of options when putting together a Will. There are companies who just specialise in Wills, this is the cheapest option, or you can go to the solicitors and have it drawn up that way, going to a solicitor is going to guarantee that it will go on to the national database. Prices generally start at about £150, this is for a straightforward Will, but can run into the thousands depending on the assets and distribution of them, requirements if children are involved and other circumstances.
So if there's one thing that you need to do this year, it's get your affairs sorted and written into a Will. The second most important thing is to make sure that you keep it up to date.