Why You Should Have A Will

Writing a Will may be something you've been thinking about for many years. The reasons for having a Will are many but if for no other reason, a Will makes life a lot easier for those you leave behind at a time of sorrow. If you die without a Will (Intestate) your family has to sort out many administrative items and are bound to the decisions made by law as to who inherits what, decisions you should have made by writing a Will.

We have dealt with thousands of Wills. It is interesting that a large number of our clients decide to write a Will following the loss of a family member who didn't write one. These clients obviously made the decision not to expose their loved ones to the inconvenience they had to endure.

As to when should you write a Will, the answer is NOW. There may be plenty of life in you yet but accidents do happen. A Will is written in such a way that it shouldn't need much changing, so it's not something you have to think about often but only in the event of a major change in circumstances such as marriage, birth of a first child or divorce.

The benefits of having a Will cannot be underestimated.
A Will will allow you to :

• Avoid unnecessary heartache for you and your family by making sure that there will not be any arguments as to who gets what.
• Take the opportunity of giving to your favourite charities.
• Reduce the risk of Inheritance Tax.
• Have peace of mind knowing that you have taken care of your financial affairs.
• Protect your children, your family.
• Choose the Executors that you want to administer your affairs.

SO WHY DO PEOPLE PUT OFF WRITING A WILL?

"Writing a Will is tempting fate" : One in three adults in Britain have already written a Will - so if writing one has fatal results the population would dramatically reduce! In fact, the British annual death rate is surprisingly stable and definitely bears no relation to the number of people who write Wills.

"I've got nothing to leave": Everybody leaves something. It may not be much but surely that's even more reason to make sure it goes to those you care about.

"I just haven't got round to it": This is normally because the job doesn't rate high enough on a list of priorities. If the pipes freeze, no matter what you're doing or how tight your finances, you get it fixed fast! We can honestly say that the vast majority of our client's feel great after they have had their Will done.

"I can't take the time off to visit a Solicitor": Well you don't need to. In most cases, preparing a Will is straightforward. We will send you a questionnaire for you to complete and return. We will then prepare your Will for you to sign and have witnessed. It's as simple as that.

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? MAKE THAT WILL.