It's all in the details: the business of writing your Will

The reality is that when it comes to thinking about Wills and planning for a time when we are no longer around, a significant number of people can (understandably) fall into one of two camps: (i) some can think that thinking about planning for death is morbid and unnecessary, and should only be considered later in life; or (ii) drafting a Will is a simple process that doesn’t demand any great deal of attention or commitment. It is true that many people find the idea of thinking about what is to happen after they die to be unpalatable and would rather delay considering it until it became necessary. Further, a significant number of the population do believe that there isn’t any great challenge in creating a Will.

It is important to highlight at the outset that a Will, when properly created, is a legal document that provides for certain consequences to follow according to its terms. There is a need for an understanding of how the law works before a Will can be properly drafted. Moreover, owing to its nature as a legal instrument, there are certain important details that need to be observed before it will be deemed to be properly constituted. A further point to underline is that, while it can be disconcerting to consider the fact, life can be unpredictable. The drafting of a Will allows for you offset the lack of control with a degree of surety over what your family is to do when you pass away.

At Szabo & Associates, Solicitors we have developed a specialist practice in advising and assisting clients on how to decide what their family are to do with their property when they pass away. If this is something that you would be interested in hearing more about, our team may be able to help.

Do I really need a Will?

When we pass away, the law has been designed in such a way that it will implement a process for the distribution of our property (sometimes described as our ‘estate’). Over the course of a lifetime, we can accumulate a substantial amount of property, and something will need to be done with it when we are gone. If you draft a Will then you will have given clear direction over how your estate – your home, investments, personal effects, furniture etc. are to be distributed amongst your surviving family members. You would also be able to indicate if any special payment or donation is to be made to a special cause e.g. charity out of the value of your estate. In other words, the presence of a Will gives you control over what happens with your estate.

In the event that you pass away without having a Will in place, a distinct kind of legal process will come into effect known as ‘intestacy’. Your estate will pass into intestacy where there is no Will to give direction on how it is to be distributed. This will result in your estate being distributed according to a pre-established legal formula which could result in those that you would otherwise have liked to inherit some of your property being prevented from doing so. It may also result in certain people receiving some of your estate who you would have otherwise not wanted to do so.

Is there really any need for specialist expertise?

In recent years there has been a considerable rise in the availability and use of ‘DIY Wills’. An important point to appreciate is that, as mentioned above, a properly constituted Will is a legal document. The issue with many DIY Wills is that there may be underlying flaws in their creation – being commercially available over the counter in many instances – that will prevent them from being deemed legally valid. Further they tend to be drafted in very general terms, and will be ill-suited to narrate the specific intentions that you have for your estate.

If you are considering drafting a Will it is advisable that you work with an experienced solicitor to organise this. Your intentions will need to be set our very clearly, thereby removing the risk of any ambiguity in your wishes and avoiding unnecessary argument among family members over what they think you would have wished. Furthermore, you will be able to take comfort from the fact that your Will observes the legal niceties in terms of what you are able to include / exclude in your Will and is unlikely to suffer a substantive challenge for being invalid: your Will needs to be properly signed and witnessed before it can be deemed as a formal document. 

It is also important that you arrange for storage of your Will in a safe place. When you pass away, your Will is the only indication that anyone will have (and be able to rely on) in organising and distributing your estate. You should either leave it with someone that you trust or with a neutral party e.g. safety deposit box. As an alternative, you could also entrust the security of your Will to your solicitor. At Szabo & Associates, Solicitors, we do not charge for keeping your Will in safe custody.

Get advice from expert lawyers: contact Szabo & Associates, Solicitors

At Szabo & Associates, Solicitors we make a point of providing services that meet the needs of our clients. We understand that the idea of thinking about a Will, how to distribute property, and organise inheritance can be very disconcerting. Our specialist team of private client lawyers are regularly involved in assisting clients through the process of drafting a Will, and appreciate the many different questions that will need to be answered in order to draft a Will that is comprehensive in scope. We are very proud of the approach that we take in helping clients to draft their Will: we will consult with you to find out exactly what you intend to do with your estate; provide you with bespoke advice on how to realise your intentions; produce a Will that is tailored to your needs and regularly review the terms of your will to account for any changes that become necessary. If you would like to discuss the drafting of a Will, contact George Szabo today.