Establishing the exact number of people without a will is always difficult, however the recent YouGov survey found that 59% of the population didn’t have a will, given this why do people make a will and what are the most important reasons for making a will anyway ?
What happens when you don’t make a will
The starting point to appreciate is what happens if you don’t make a will ? well the law decides via what are known as the Intestacy Rules – these set out an order of entitlement as to who can inherit an estate as well as administer an estate. Relying on these rules can be lead to real problems. For example, you might not want your blood relatives to inherit your estate whilst currently, the Intestacy Rules do not provide for any entitlement for an unmarried couple. Thus, if you have been living together ( albeit unmarried ) your surviving partner would have no rights !
The YouGov survey interestingly, indicated that 20% of those interviewed felt that there was no need as they didn’t have any assets whilst 68% said they were too young to make a will.
So why make a will then ?
It seems that when couples get married or have children these are significant factors as to why couples decide to make a will. These are important factors. Firstly, a will allows you to appoint executors to administer your estate whilst secondly, if you have children a will would enable the appointment of Guardians to look after your Children until the reached 18. Other important reasons the YouGov survey highlights, are that when couples get divorced they make a will.
Actually making a will
Getting actually round to making a will is often the problem, however the drafting and witnessing of a will is very straightforward and something that can be done relatively cheaply and quickly, so if you are unsure as to whether to make a will here are 5 top reasons for doing so :-
1. It creates certainty over what will happen to your assets and prevents problems.
2. Allows you to appoint executors and Guardians
3. No making a will may result in your entire assets passing to someone you don’t want.
4. You could reduce the payment of inheritance tax by a carefully drafted will
5. If unmarried having a will is vital.
Do you need a will ? we would be happy to help you – call us on 0845 568 400.
