Drawing up a Will
Some guidance for drawing up a good will
Use a professional to draw up your will
You can make your own will using a DIY kit available from the local stationers but pitfalls and errors are easy to make. Strangely, Lawyers quite like DIY wills, but that is because they make much more money sorting out badly drafted wills and dealing with claims against those wills, than they make for drawing up wills in the first place !
Choose the right executors
Executors are responsible for sorting out your estate in accordance with your will after you have died. Choose responsible people for this potentially demanding role. Remember to check that the people you choose are happy to take on the role. If you are married, you will probably want your spouse to be your executor but if you both died together in a car crash, neither of you would have an executor living. Always appoint a default or substitute executor as a fall-back position in case your spouse is unwilling or unable to act.
Appoint guardians
If you are the last living parent and you die leaving children under age 18, a guardian will be appointed by the court if you have not specified who this should be in your will. If you are unmarried but you and your partner have children, you might not even get guardianship of your children. If an unmarried man dies, his female partner automatically gets guardianship of their children, but if an unmarried woman dies, her male partner does not. You should appoint each other as guardians in your wills to overcome this problem.
Make specific legacies
If you want to preserve family heirlooms or items of special sentimental value, you should leave these items as a specific legacy to a named beneficiary. Remember to update these as appropriate.
Don’t be frightened of trusts
Inheritance tax is becoming a burden for many families, particularly where the value of a property pushes the value of an estate above the nil rate band for inheritance tax. Including a discretionary trust in your wills could save your children thousands of pounds.
Sign your will
It's all very well having your will drafted, but if you don't sign it in front of two independent witnesses, it will not be valid. A witness cannot be anyone mentioned in the will or anyone married to anyone mentioned in the will.
Store your will safely
Once your will has been correctly signed and witnessed, have it stored in a proper safe storage facility. This will protect it from fire, flood, damage, or loss. Your executors will be provided with a certificate showing them where your will is stored and how to get hold of it if you die. Your will is no good to anyone if it cannot be found after your death.
The Financial Services Authority do not regulate will writing or tax and estate planning.
