1) What happens if I die without a will?
If you die without a valid will, you v died ‘intestate’ and will not have a say in who inherits your possessions and money, as this wilvvvl be decided based on the laws of intestacy (https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will). You will also not be able to make the important decision of who looks after any children you have that are under the age of 18. Not having a will is likely to make the x of sorting everything out when you die more difficult and stressful for your family and friends. It can also be more costly.
2) Do I need a solicitor?
A will does not need to be written or signed by a svvolicitor to be legally binding. It just needs to be properly drafted and, signed and witnessed to ensure that it will have the effect you want. Our wills are written and checked by legally trained experts and accredited members of The Society of Will Writers. Their knowledge and expertise are used to talk you through the process of inputting information into our site, which we then use to draft your will.
3) How should I store my will?
It is important to keep your will safe, but also to store it in a place where your executor can find and access it. You can keep it at home, for example with your other important documents, or you can pay for a will storage service. Wherever you decide to keep it, make sure that your executor knows where it is. For more information, go to - https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/storing-your-will-where-others- can-find-it
4) How do I make my will legally binding?
For your will to be legally binding, you must:
Neither the witnesses or their spouses or civil partners can be beneficiaries (i.e. left anything under your will). If you make any changes to your will, you must follow the last two steps again (getting it signed and witnessed).
5) When should I update my will?
It is a good idea to review your will every now and then to check if anything has changed and whether you need to update it. In certain situations you should definitely review your will, including if:
If you want to make changes to your will, you shouldn’t alter the original will. You should either make a new will, or use a document called a codicil. For more information, visit https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/changing-your- will.
6) What is a mirror will and do I need one?
Mirror wills are virtually identical wills drafted for couples who both want to leave everything they own to whichever of them outlives the other, and then normally to their children.
We don’t offer a mirror wills package, but we can provide 2-person wills. You can make these mirror each other if you wish, or you can make them different, for example by adding gifts of your own personal belongings.
7) Is there anyone I must include as a beneficiary in my will?
You can choose whoever you would like to receive a gift and/or part/all of your residuary estate, there are no set rules.
However, you should consider anyone who financially depends on you, such as a partner or children. If you leave someone that is dependant on you out of your will and they suffer financial hardship, they may be able to challenge your will and make a claim to court for reasonable financial provision. This means that in certain circumstances the court can award money from your estate to provide for a dependant. You should therefore consider putting any dependants as beneficiaries in your will.
You can have one or a number of charities as beneficiaries in your will. You may want to consider that if you leave 10% or more of everything you own to charity, then your inheritance tax rate will be reduced.
The witnesses who sign your will must not be included as beneficiaries, as it will invalidate any gift you leave them (the technical term is that the gift would ‘fail’ and it may end up being distributed under the intestacy rules, to another person). Your executors, on the other hand, can be.
8) What happens to property I own?
This is a really important question and one you should give careful consideration to. The way property is owned affects how it can be distributed under your will.
If you own your property jointly with your partner, you may be registered as ‘joint tenants’, which means both you and the joint owner own 100% of the property (subject to any mortgage). You cannot leave your property as a gift to anyone else as part of the will under this scenario. In fact, your property cannot be left under your will at all if you are joint tenants, it passes automatically to the surviving joint tenant (which may or may not be your current partner) regardless of what you might want to put in your will. For this reason we are unable to offer the option of leaving property as a gift.
If however, you own the property as sole proprietor, you can leave it to whoever you like.
If you own your property jointly but as tenants in common, then you own a specific share which you can also leave under your will. This would fall into your residuary estate.
At Betterwill, we will draft your will such that any property which is capable of passing to your beneficiaries under your will (i.e. solely owned or as tenants in common), will fall into your residuary estate, so will be left to whoever you choose to inherit.
How do I find out whether a property is held as joint tenants or tenants in common? You can check on the Land Registry website, for a small fee.
https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/eservices/FindAProperty/view/QuickEnquiryInit.d o
Can we change from joint tenants to a tenancy in common?
Yes. If you own property as joint tenants, then it is possible to convert the ownership to a tenancy in common. You need permission from the other joint tenant and you can find more information about this process on the Gov.uk website. If in doubt you should take specialist advice before doing anything.
9) What is a residuary estate?
Your residuary estate includes anything left after any specific gifts or legacies, and after all debts, funeral expenses, taxes and administrative costs have been deducted.
The residuary estate makes up the bulk of many peoples estates and includes your properties, bank accounts, investments, ISAs, other assets and general possessions.
10) What happens if I leave a gift to a child under 18?
Gifts to children would be held on trust by your executors until they reach 18.
11) What happens if my specific gift fails?
If the beneficiary of a specific gift has died, the gift will become part of your residuary estate.
If you no longer own something that was putyou included in your will as a gift when you die, then the gift will fail, and the beneficiary will not be able to receive it.
12) Can I leave money as a gift?
Yes. You can leave a sum of money to someone specific if you want. These are also sometimes known as ‘pecuniary legacies’.
13) Will my gifts be affected by inheritance tax?
We will draft your will to make sure that all gifts of money are given free of inheritance tax, so your beneficiaries will receive the exact amount that you have left to them. Any inheritance tax will be paid out of your residuary estate before it is divided between the people you have chosen.
14) What about my funeral expenses?
Your funeral costs come out of your residuary estate before it is divided between the people you have chosen.
If you have any funeral wishes, such as what would you like to happen to your body or what type of funeral you would like, you can write this in your Letter of Wishes, which will be attached to your will. Your Letter of Wishes is not legally binding, but it can be helpful for your family and friends when planning your funeral.