1.
How long will my Will be valid? |
Once
you have written your Will, signed it, and had it witnessed,
it is valid until revoked. There are 3 ways to revoke
your Will :- |
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Destroy
all copies of it. |
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Marrying
or re-marrying automatically revokes a previous Will unless
that Will expressly states that it is made in contemplation
of forthcoming marriage. |
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Make
a new Will which revokes your old Will. Every Will prepared
at tenminutewill.co.uk contains a clause to revoke all
Wills you have previously made. |
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If
any of the following occur, you should make a new Will
:- |
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Changes
in the Family. If there is an addition to or a death in
your family, you may want to consider revising your Will.
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If
you get married. Marrying or re-marrying automatically
revokes a Will prepared at tenminutewill.co.uk. The safest
thing to do if you get married is to make a new Will. |
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If
you get divorced. Getting divorced does not revoke a Will
but all clauses naming your former spouse will cease to
be valid and if he or she is named as an Executor then
upon divorce he or she is not allowed to act or obtain
probate of your Will. The safest thing to do if you get
divorced is to make a new Will. |
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Separation.
If you separate from your spouse, the effect is not the
same as divorce but you may still want to revise your
Will to take account of your changed circumstances. |
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Changes
in your Financial Circumstances. If your financial circumstances
change for the better, you may want to add new beneficiaries
or bring the gifts or sums of money more up to date. Conversely,
if your financial circumstances have taken a turn for
the worse your estate may not be sufficient enough to
provide for all the gifts you have left. |
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Changes
in taxation. If your estate is large enough to attract
Inheritance tax, new taxes, tax reliefs, or new rates
then you may need to think about revising it. |
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Going
to live abroad. You should normally make a Will in the
country where you live to simplify the administration
of your estate. Different countries have different laws
- for example any Will written at tenminutewill.co.uk
is only valid for UK assets. |
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But
the above circumstances are less of an issue than you
might think:- Once you have made a Will at tenminutewill.co.uk
its details are stored with us forever, so you can effectively
make a new Will at any time simply by making a few changes.
You are allowed to make 2 such changes free of charge,
or an unlimited number of changes if you refer just one
person to us. |
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| 2.
Can my children inherit? |
Children
cannot inherit until they reach the age of 18; below this
age, the funds are held in Trust. If you think 18 is too
young for your children to inherit a large sum of money,
within a Will, you can specify that they not receive the
capital sum until a later age. They will, however, be
entitled to receive any income from the trust fund as
soon as they reach 18. Apart from this, the Trustees decide
what income and/or capital can be used for the benefit
of the children e.g. school fees. |
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| 3.
Can't I just write my own Will myself? |
Yes,
you can. But there are significant risks in doing so -
which you will not be around to sort out. It could mean
substantial legal fees to put things right - quite apart
from the upset and confusion it could cause those you
leave behind. You should consider: |
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A
Will that is not clear under the law is open to challenge
and your wishes may be overruled. |
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A
Will not made under the correct procedures can be rendered
invalid. |
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When
making your own Will you may overlook some possibilities
and unforeseen changes in circumstances. |
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| 4.
Can an executor be a beneficiary? |
Yes.
Often the main beneficiary is one of the executors and
indeed we advise this. |
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| 5.
Do I need a solicitor to act as executor? |
No.
A clause in every Will writen at tenminutewill.co.uk authorises
your appointed executors to hire a solicitor (whose fee
is paid out of your estate and not by them!) if they think
they need one to help with the administration of your
estate. |
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| 6.
Do I need to nominate guardians in my will? |
You
do not have to, but a Will can be a convenient place to
name a guardian. Without nominated guardians, the courts
will decide who will look after your children. |
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| 7.
Will I have to pay Inheritance Tax? |
The first £285,000 of your estate will pass free
of IHT, this is known as the Nil Rate Band personal tax
allowance. The remainder will be taxed at 40%. |
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| 8.
What if I die without making a Will? |
Many
people think that their Estate will go to their partner
when they die. This is rarely the case. For Example, if
you are living with but not married to your partner, they
will receive nothing if you die without making a Will.
Even
if you are married to your partner, he or she may not
receive the entire Estate and worryingly, may not receive
enough to maintain their current lifestyle.
When
you die intestate (i.e. without having made a Will) then
your loved ones may not even get to control the administration
of your estate - the management of your estate is instead
placed in the hands of administrators appointed by a court. |
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| 9.
Do married couples need two Wills? |
| If
you are married, both you and your spouse should each make
a Will. |
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| 10.
Who should make a Will? |
Every
adult can and should make a Will. Minors (under 18) cannot
make a Will.
The
only qualifications necessary are that you are of legal
age (18) and of sound mind. If you have a history of mental
illness or you are suffering from an illness which may
affect your judgement in any way, you should consult a
qualified doctor just before preparing your Will. |
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| 11.
Is there anything I can't leave in my Will? |
Firstly,
you cannot leave anything in your Will which you do not
fully own. So, for example, if you jointly own a property
under a joint tenancy with somebody then upon your death
your share automatically goes to the surviving co-owner(s).
However, if you own the property under a tenancy in common
(which means you each own a specified share) then you
can give your share of the property to whoever you wish
- i.e. you can leave it in your Will. Our advice is that
you consult the solicitor who did the conveyancing to
find out which type of joint ownership you have.
If
you have a life insurance policy, it will generally be
expressed to be for the benefit of a named person and
will therefore not pass into your estate when you die.
So you do not need to mention it in your Will.
Your
pension rights may similarly pass outside your Will in
the same way - your employer or pension provider should
have more details. |
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| 12.
In what countries will my Will be valid? |
A
will made at tenminutewill.co.uk
will be valid for immovable assets (i.e. property) in
England and Wales only and movable assets (e.g. bank accounts)
in most other countries. |
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| 13.
What if somebody I leave a gift to in my Will dies? |
If
somebody you have left a specific gift (item or money)
to fails to survive you by 30 clear days, then that gift
goes back into your estate as if it had not been bequeathed.
Any beneficiary of your Will who dies before they receive
their legacy but more than 30 days after you do will receive
their legacy posthumously and the legacy (money or gift)
will form part of their estate.
If
somebody you have left all or a portion of your Residual
Estate to fails to survive you by 30 clear days, then
their share is either divided among the other beneficiaries
of your Residual Estate so that those remaining receive
their shares in the same proportion to each other as before
or (if there are no co-beneficiaries) it passes to any
substitute Residual Beneficiaries you have nominated.
For more details, see the Help available in Step 5 when
you compose your Will. |
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| 14.
What if I want to leave people out of my Will? |
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you intend to exclude any of the following from your Will:-
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your
spouse or an ex-spouse who has never remarried |
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a partner
(if you have been living together for more than 2 years) |
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a child
or stepchild of yours, or any other financial dependant
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then you should be aware that under the
Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act
1975 they can legally contest the Will if they are excluded
or under-provided for and you are advised to write a separate
letter to be kept with your Will explaining your reasons
for excluding them. This letter can then be read out in
court if the Will needs to be 'defended' and (if your
reasons are valid) will decrease the contestor's chances
of winning. |
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| 15.
Can my estate be taken away from my spouse to pay Care Costs? |
The short answer is "yes it can".
If your spouse has to go into Local Authority Care then
the authorities can take all but the last £20,000
of his/her assets to pay for that care.
However,
you can 'shelter' some or all of your Estate from this
by either making a 'Discretionary Trust with Life Interest
in Residue' Will (in this case your spouse does not own
any of your estate and therefore the authorities can't
touch it) or by leaving your share in the marital home
to your spouse as a 'right to live' gift (again, your
spouse will not own your share in the house and therefore
the authorities can't touch it). |
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