Why do I need a
will?
If you die before you have made a will, your
property will be distributed in accordance with
an Act of Parliament called the Administration of Estates Act
1925. This Act contains a detailed
table of who should receive what proportion of
your property when you die, according to
Parliament's idea of what is usual and
proper. For certain people, this may be
acceptable. However if your property is
distributed in this way:
- Your
property may not be distributed to your
loved ones. For instance, de facto
partners will not be provided for.
- Your property may be distributed to
someone you would have chosen not to provide for; e.g. rich
or estranged siblings or cousins.
- If your spouse remarries, their new
spouse may benefit from assets that you may have wished to reserve
to your children.
- You will not have the opportunity to
benefit any charities of your choice.
- Unless you have consulted a lawyer or
read the statute yourself, you will not know exactly how your
property will be distributed.
- If you have
no close relatives, your property may go
to the government.
For all these reasons, it is desirable for you
to prepare a will or have a solicitor prepare one for
you. Before you do so, you should read the
guidelines contained on the following pages.
You should consult a firm of solicitors if:
- You do not understand any of the advice
on the following pages.
- You have questions of your own which are
not answered on the following pages.
- You are anticipating divorce.
- You are contemplating remarriage. Once
you marry, any will made prior to that marriage becomes void. If
you want the will to survive the marriage, a special clause is
needed.
- You have children of a previous marriage.
- You hold
property as a joint
tenant.
- You have significant assets outside of
the UK.
- You have a family trust.
- You have
prepared your own will, but would like it
checked by a solicitor to ensure that it
is valid.
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