Making a Will * writing a nil rate band discretionary trust Will * how to avoid inheritance tax * making a will to ensure your beneficiaries inherit your estate

Few of us plan on dieing which is why so many of us don't get around to making a will and most of us have never heard of a nil rate band discretionary trust Will which can be used to avoid paying Inheritance Tax. Death is one of those subjects that gets swept under the carpet and as a result, many people die intestate, leaving their bereaving relatives to sort out the probate and foot the inheritance tax bill,

MAKING A WILL

Making a Will is something that many of us are likely to put off because we don't like to contemplate our own death. That's understandable but rather like closing our eyes when we cross the road because we don't want to see a car coming.

In actual fact, providing you are over 18 you are never too young to think about making a will, and if you do make a will, you will make life a lot easier for your loved ones after you are gone.

By making a Will you are ensuring that, on your death, your estate (your money, property, possessions, and everything else of any value that you leave behind) is divided up according your wishes, rather than according to the rules that apply if someone dies intestate.

Intestacy laws are very clear but probate can take months if you die without making a Will. Bank accounts are frozen at the very time when your loved ones are most vulnerable and short of money.

Making a will also provides opportunities to avoid or minimise inheritance tax - thus ensuring that you leave as much of your estate as possible to your nearest and dearest and as little as possible to the tax man. Click here for more in depth information on inheritance tax planning.

Having paid tax all your life, do you really want to go on paying after your death?

There are three ways that you can go about making a will:

1. You can write it yourself, if you want to really cause unnecessary problems after you death as this is risky at best because if you don't follow the correct procedures your Will may end being invalid - and by the time the problems are discovered it will be too late for you to do anything about it. Solicitors make fortunes out of sorting out amateur wills written by someone who wanted to save a few pounds and ends up costing his or her family thousands. Wills are not expensive, amateur wills can cost fortunes.
   
   
2. You can use an online will-writing service such as this one. This is a low cost way of doing things and can often be just as good as having a bespoke will professionally drafted by a solicitor or will-writer but they come with risks.
   
   
3. You can use the services of a specialist will-writer or a solicitor. The costs will be slightly higher, but you can ask questions and have questions that you may not think to ask posed to you and therefore tailor your Will to exactly match your requirements. You will also have the reassurance that your Will has been properly drafted and checked for any problems that may render it invalid. If you would like to arrange a no-obligation discussion with a professional will-writer, please click here.

WRITING A NIL RATE BAND DISCRETIONARY TRUST WILL

A lot of people wrongly assume that if they don't make a will, their spouse and/or their children will automatically get everything when they pass away. However, this is not necessarily always the case.

If die intestate without having made a will and you have no surviving spouse or blood relatives, then your entire estate will pass to the Crown (technically the Queen, but in reality the taxman).

If you are married or have blood relatives and you die intestate without making a will, then your relatives will have to apply to the courts for probate before your estate can be distributed. This can be an expensive and drawn-out process and is something which can be avoided by making a will.

If you have young children, you can use your will to specify who will look after them as guardians if you and the other parent both die. Without a will, it will be left to the courts to decide and your children could end up being raised by a relative who you would not have chosen as guardians

If you are living with a partner, but are unmarried, then your common law partner will get nothing if you die without making a will. This happens far too often and common law parteners who have lived together for years end up on the streets.

Here are some examples of what can happen if you die without making a will.

Example 1 - Cohabiting (unmarried) and no children

Your partner will inherit nothing when you die.

Example 2 - Married, but no children

If your estate is worth less than £200,000 then everything passes to your spouse. If you leave more than £200,000 then your spouse only gets the first £200,000 plus a life interest in half the remainder. The balance of your estate would pass to your parents (if still alive) or to your brothers/sisters if you have any.

Example 3 - Married with children

Your spouse inherits the first £125,000 plus a life interest in half the remainder. Whatever is left over (i.e. half of the amount over £125,000) goes to your children.

None of these situations is ever ideal for the surviving partner and causes unnecessary heartbreak in addition to the grief caused by your bereavement.

By writing a will, you can ensure that things happen according to your wishes, rather than following the set rules used in the examples above. To find out more, please click here to arrange a no-obligation confidential discussion with a qualified will-writer.

If you have already made a will, when did you last check it was up to date and current? Changes in circumstances may mean that it now needs revising in order to meet your current family or financial situation especially if your estate now exceeds the inheritance tax threshold. For example, relatives who were beneficiaries may have died, you may have had children since making your will, and so would now benefit from nominating guardians in your will.

Or maybe you have got married since making your will? If so, then your old will is no longer valid because marriage automatically revokes any existing will. Or you may have divorced and be living with a common law partner who you wish to protect. Die intestate and your divorced wife or children may become a beneficiary.

For advice on writing or changing your will, just click here and we will pass your contact details in confidence to a specialist will-writer who will be happy to have a no-obligation discussion with you.