Why should you make a Will?  Well, you may wish to plan effectively to reduce the incidence of any Inheritance Tax which may become due.  You may wish to appoint a guardian to look after any children, or ensure your assets are correctly and legally placed into trust for the benefit of your children when they grow up.  Most importantly, it is the only way you can direct what shall happen to your assets when you die.  It is the only way you can be reasonably certain who gets what and when.

If you don't make a Will, when you pass away you will be said to have died Intestate and then all your estate (all your assets) will be shared out in accordance with the Intestacy Rules.  As a guide they are as follows:-

If at the time of your death you were married and your net estate is less than £125,000 then your spouse will receive everything.  If it is more than £125,000 and you had no other surviving relative your spouse will still receive it all.

If you were married, had children and your net estate is less than £125,000 then again your spouse gets everything, but if it is more than £125,000 your spouse will receive the first £125,000 and a then have a right to receive the interest on half the remainder every year for the rest of their lives, but will not be able to actually have the remainder as a lump sum.  That is called a life interest.  The other half of the remainder will be shared between your children, with your children eventually becoming entitled to the life interest capital amount when your spouse passes away.  Should any of your children die before you leaving children of their own, then they would be entitled to the share their parent would otherwise have taken.

If you pass away leaving a spouse without leaving children, but leaving other relatives then if your net estate is less than £200,000 your spouse receives it all, but if it is more than £200,000 then your spouse will receive the first £200,000, and then half of any remainder. The other half of the remainder will be shared between your relatives in an order of priority:- (1) parents, (2) brothers/sisters, (3) half brothers/sisters (4) grandparents, (5) aunts/uncles, (6) spouses of aunts/uncles.

If you are not married but do leave children your net estate will be shared between the children, and if they die before you then their children will inherit their share.

If you are not married, have no children, but you do have parents or have had brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, or uncles then your net estate will be shared equally between them in an order of priority:-  (1) parents, (2) brothers/sisters, (3) half brothers/sisters (4) grandparents, (5) aunts/uncles, (6) spouses of aunts/uncles.  If any of them have died before you but have left children alive at your death then the children will take their parent's share.

If you are not married, and have no other relatives then your net estate will go the Crown

The Intestacy Rules do not recognise "common law" partners, and the definition of "children" includes natural ,adopted and illegitimate children, but excludes step-children.

Did you know:

• a Will becomes invalid when you marry, unless it is stated in the Will it is made in contemplation of marriage.
• you should revise your Will if you divorce.
• we can draw simple Wills for less than £100 and if your husband/wife has an identical mirror Will charge only half for the second Will.
• some Wills are drawn by non qualified Will writers with little experience.  Don't take chances have a solicitor do it  - the cost is usually the same, and we don't try to sell you any insurance related products either.
• we will advise you on strategies to avoid the possibilities of any future claims against your estate.
• we will keep your Will in our fire proof safe custody free of charge - for ever.

For more information see below.

Probate
Probate, in its loosest sense, is a term used to describe the process of proving someone’s Will and then collecting in assets, paying the liabilities and administering the balance in accordance with the deceased's Will or the Rules on Intestacy.

The process to the uninitiated can be complex and time consuming and full of pitfalls, such as forgetting to deal with the Inland Revenue or the Dept. of Work and Pensions.

We provide various levels of service for our clients.  We can carry out the full 'Probate Service' dealing with everything from start to finish or we can simply advise on how to correctly fill in the variety of Probate Registry and Inland Revenue forms so that the executors of the Will can obtain the 'Grant of Probate' and progress themselves to administering the estate.

We can give clients a fixed price for carrying out certain parts of the process so that the client can choose which bits they want us to do and which they want to do themselves.

• We can advise generally on all aspects including:-
• What are the immediate practical steps to take when a relative or friend dies?
• Who is authorised to deal with the deceased’s estate?
• How to locate a 'lost' Will?
• What to do if there is no a Will?
• What to do if you think the Will might be invalid.
• Who is to pay the deceased’s debts?
• How to make a claim against an estate if your not mentioned in the Will, or if you think you should get something from the estate
• How to resist claims made against estates by third parties

Enquiries - email enquiries@clarkwillis.co.uk