New Year, New Will?

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New Year, New Will?

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It’s the New Year and for many of us this offers the chance for a fresh start and a fresh outlook.  Some of us will finally commit to that long overdue gym membership, whilst others may simply see the New Year as an incentive to get things organised or back on track.  Whatever you decide to do, it may be worth remembering to get yourself a Will sorted out if you haven’t done so already or consider updating your existing one!

Making a Will can be extremely useful for a variety of reasons:-

  1. You can choose who you want to deal with your estate when you die. 

    It’s important that you appoint people you can trust – particularly if there’s a lot to sort out.  If you leave this up to family members to decide between them then this may be very stressful and could cause arguments at a difficult time if they don’t agree.

  2. If you have young children, you may want to consider appointing guardians in the event that something happens to you or a partner whilst they are still under 18.

    There are a few ways of legally appointing guardians but making a Will, assuming certain other factors are present, is one of them.

  3. A Will helps to give certainty as to what should happen to your estate on death. 

    Where no Will has been made, a surviving spouse or civil partner will be entitled to the entire estate where there are no children or grandchildren.  This may not be what you want if, for example, you have close siblings or parents whom you would want to take a share.  Similarly, you may have strong wishes about whether or not grandchildren inherit your estate in circumstances where one or more of your children died before you.  By making a Will, you can determine what happens in these circumstances without leaving it up to the law to decide for you.

  4. If you’re cohabiting with a partner then it is extremely important to make a Will. 

    If you are not married or in a civil partnership then your partner does not automatically inherit anything on your death, save, for example, where you have joint assets.  This could mean that they get nothing.

  5. Even if you are married, you may have children from a previous relationship.

    Making a Will can help to ensure that these children are looked after, otherwise your spouse or civil partner may not give them anything when they die – particularly if they remarry or have further children of their own.

Whatever the new year brings, making a Will should be towards the top of the list.  If your Will was prepared some time ago it may be worth reviewing it with us to make sure it is up-to-date.  Don’t forget that we are also happy to visit clients away from the office, if required.

Don’t delay!  Call our friendly team today for a no-obligation discussion on the options and our fees.  For a small fee, you can get expert legal advice, a solicitor on your side and the peace of mind to know that your estate is taken care of in the future.

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