Julie West Solicitors private client solicitor Emma West
I am a solicitor specialising in wills, trusts, probate, estate administration, lasting powers of attorney and residential property. I get to talk to lots of clients about their wills and general lifetime planning so I’ve gathered a few FAQs about wills and my answers here in case it helps you.
You can find out more about our Julie West Solicitors will service by clicking here.
I’m planning to make a will with my partner, do we make one will or two?
Couples often make wills at the same time with similar terms, but each person needs to make their own will. If possible, it’s best to get advice together so that you can make sure you’re using all of the options and tax allowances available to you.
My partner has children from a previous relationship that I want to benefit from my will, do I need to do anything special?
Yes. For anyone making a will, it is imperative that you tell your solicitor whether your children and grandchildren are related to you by blood, legal adoption, marriage or otherwise. The specific wording of your will must be right. Otherwise, family members you wanted to benefit may miss out causing unhappiness and most likely additional legal costs for your estate. The same goes for the children of any of your chosen beneficiaries.
What happens if one of my beneficiaries dies before me?
A well-drafted will should set out exactly what should happen if one of your beneficiaries dies before you. Your solicitor will give you options for this. For example, you might choose for the gift to fail which means it will go back into your estate and pass to your other chosen beneficiaries or you might choose for the gift to be given to the deceased beneficiary’s children or another person instead.
A charity I support has offered me the opportunity to make a new will at a “bargain price” with a will writer, should I do it?
No. Most major charities have set up referral arrangements with will writing factory firms who pay for your business rather than winning it on merit. These firms are usually unregulated, untrained and uninsured. These firms operate by selling off the shelf will and trust products similar to a “stationer’s will kit” (although they make them look fancy with a swish website). The problem with buying a will off the shelf is that if it is unsuitable, overly complex or just plain wrong it is your family who will suffer emotionally and financially after you have died. Sadly, as specialist solicitors, we are often asked to fix problems created by these firms and so we would advise all of our potential clients to take an extremely cautious approach.
What happens if one of my beneficiaries moves house?
It’s normal to include the postal address of each of your beneficiaries at the time you make your will. We do this to help identify your beneficiaries, you do not need to keep updating your will as people change address. If you are very organised, it is helpful to your executors if you keep a list of contact details for your beneficiaries with your important papers to make the administration of your estate easier.
I want my grandchildren to benefit from my will, but I feel that 18 is too early to have the responsibility of a cash gift, what can I do?
A simple solution would be to delay the cash gift in your will until age 21, 25 or even later, depending on your wishes. If you die before your grandchild reaches your chosen age to inherit, your executors will manage the gift for the time being. A well-worded will should give your executors powers to use part or all of the money early in any particular circumstances you choose. For example, to pay for further education or to use as a house deposit.
Is a common-law spouse treated in the same way as someone who is a legally married spouse or civil partner?
Strangely, there is no such thing as a common-law spouse in a legal sense. If you die without making a will, cohabiting partners have no rights to inherit under statutory rules so it is imperative that unmarried couples make wills.
Likewise, there are no additional inheritance tax allowances for cohabiting partners (as there are for husbands, wives and civil partners). I’ve had more than one client come and see me to discuss their wills and end up announcing their engagement!
I’ve just got married, is the will I made before still valid?
No, unless your solicitor included a “clause in contemplation of marriage” worded in the right way, your will is automatically revoked on marriage. This can have devastating effects on families, especially second marriages where the couple have children from previous relationships. Not many people know about this so I like to write a reminder to my friends in their congratulations on your engagement cards and I encourage you to do the same.
If I give my house to my children will it be excluded from the calculation of the value of my estate after I have died?
The short answer is no, this would be a gift with reservation of benefit that would mean the value is still included in your estate for inheritance tax purposes. You may also be penalised by losing other additional inheritance tax allowances (like the residence nil rate band). However, in certain circumstances, there are opportunities for inheritance tax planning with the family home so I would say its always a good idea to discuss it with your solicitor if you’re thinking about it.
I don’t want to think about my funeral and have no idea what I would want anyway, do I have to include instructions in my will?
No, you don’t! I’ve got none in my will for the same reason. If you’ve got a specific idea of what you want that’s great and you might as well put it in (it can be as simple as cremation/burial or as detailed as you like). I think its more important to let your executors know your wishes, if you have them, because typically your family may not look at your will until after they’ve got through your funeral anyway.
Why should I instruct a solicitor at Julie West Solicitors to help me make my will?
Here are some of the reasons I think we offer a fantastic wills service for our clients:
The most important reason is that the wills we make for our clients are fully regulated and insured.
The solicitor that would make your will (either me or my extremely experienced colleague Susan Grant) has undergone years of specialist training.
We charge fixed fees based on complexity. Our pricing policy is so transparent we set out all of our fees on our website: click here to see our wills page for more information.
We are accredited members of the Law Society’s Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme (WIQs) so we meet the criteria for the industry’s best standard in preparing wills and working on probate and estate administration.
Our solicitors have a wide range of expertise so we are able to help with work connected to your lifetime planning including lasting powers of attorney, residential and commercial property, declarations of trust, equity release and lifetime mortgages and more: find out about other services to consider on our lifetime planning page.
We’re able to take instructions on the basis of a face to face meeting or your written instructions. We adapt to you. All that matters to us is that we’re able to have an open and honest conversation about your circumstances and wishes so that we’re able to help in any way we can.
Finally, our clients think we’re great:
“The service I received on the drafting of my will was very efficient and Emma was super friendly and helpful”
“Susan was extremely responsive to questions and ... was also very helpful in advising on tax issues. The costs were clear and very fair”
“Susan Grant impressed me with her kindness and professionalism”
“Emma is easy to talk to and gives good explanations”
“Really friendly. Prompt delivery. Overall really satisfied.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you for being so efficient and speedy with putting our Wills in place”
Glossary
We also try to specialise in turning legal jargon into human language:
Will: a document that states who you wish to receive your belongings, cash, investments, property etc as well as who is responsible for making sure this happens.
Codicil: an addition to your will. Codicils can be tricky because it’s easy to revoke all of or the wrong part of your original will and they can be confusing for your executors. I generally recommend you just make a new will, but it depends on your particular circumstances.
Estate: property, money and possessions of someone who has died.
Residuary estate: everything you own after debts, tax, funeral expenses and legacies have been paid.
Executor: the person (or people) you choose to administer your estate.
Beneficiary: a person you choose to receive something or get a benefit from your will.
Probate: the process of applying for a Grant of Representation (certificate that confirms a person’s authority to administer your estate either by your will or statute). When people use this word they may also mean collecting in your assets and distributing them to your beneficiaries.
Inheritance tax: tax due to HM Revenue and Customs on the estate of someone who has died, usually paid on or before making the probate application.
What next?
If you’ve got a question or would like more information about wills, give us a ring on 01372 383273, email hello@juliewestsolicitors.co.uk or complete our online enquiry form.