Writing A Will: What To Remember

Writing a will is very important because if you die without a will there can be tricky legal consequences. Many people put off writing a will but it doesn’t have to be daunting. 

Things to remember when writing a will 

• For your will to be legal, you must be over 18 years old. 
• You must be of sound mind and acting voluntarily. 
• When you write a will, it must be ‘written’ or ‘typed’, it can’t be a recording of a person talking for example. 
• Your will, once written, must be signed by yourself in front of two witnesses and both witnesses must sign the same copy of the will. 
• Both of the witnesses must be over 18 years old and you cannot leave them or their legal spouses anything in your will. 

There are a number of items that can make a will more complicated and we would advise seeking advice from the experts at Beyond if any of the following instances apply to you: 

• You share a property with a partner that you are not married to or in a civil partnership with,
• If you want to leave something in your will to someone who can’t care for themselves,
• You live outside the UK or own a property overseas, 
• You have your own business,
• If you have living former spouses or children from multiple partners who might contest the will.

Preparing to write a will 

• Make a list of everything you own and what you will need to distribute. These things should include property, savings, pensions, insurance schemes, stocks, vehicles and possessions. 
• Make a list of any debts you have. 
• Decide on who would be your legal guardians for any children you have under the age of 18. 
• Explain which items or amounts of money you would like to give to specific people or organisations. 
• After your debts have been paid and specific items given to specific people, anything left is called your residuary estate. Explain how you would like to distribute this. 
• If any of your named beneficiaries should die before you do, you should name who should inherit instead. 
• Name the executors of your will. These individuals need to be over 18 years old and will make sure your wishes in your will are carried out.

Having a Will in place to reflect your wishes if you were to die is an extremely important part of your financial arrangements. If you do not have a will currently, or wish to review your existing will, please let me know and I can make an introduction to our preferred provider www.afps.co.uk

Please note: The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Will Writing.