It doesn’t matter how big or small your estate is, a Will gives you control over the future of your assets and possessions and allows you to protect those close to you.
Having a Will ensures your wishes are followed after your death, avoiding any disagreements about who takes what. If you don’t make a Will you die ‘intestate’, meaning the law decides what happens to your estate. Only those who fall under the ‘Rules of Intestacy’ will inherit and administer your estate.
By simply putting a Will in place, it ensures your estate will be dealt with effectively and efficiently and most importantly, in accordance with your wishes.
Our team has a depth of experience and offers responsible, honest and friendly guidance on preparing or updating your Will.
We look forward to getting to know you and helping you make your company to new heights
We look forward to getting to know you and helping you make your company to new heights
We look forward to getting to know you and helping you make your company to new heights
It’s particularly important to update your Will when your status changes – after marriage, divorce or the birth of children however in the following circumstances, complications and additional costs can arise by not having a Will in place:
Do not have any rights to inherit under the Intestacy Rules. Family structures can be complicated and a Will clearly sets out who you want to inherit and be maintained by you after you die. As importantly, it leaves out those who you don’t want to inherit from you just because you’re related by blood doesn’t mean you want them to benefit from you.
You may have started a second family but still want your children from your first relationship to benefit from your estate. Making a Will is critical in this situation.
Depending on how you hold your assets, your spouse may not have the automatic right to inherit all of your estate. There are limits and the Intestacy Rules decide how much they get. Your spouse could be forced to sell the family home to give those also entitled, their share of your estate.
A Will allows you to appoint guardians to care and influence your children. If you don’t they could end up being looked after by someone you would not want or choose.
Solicitors and banks make huge sums of money from being professional executors and most people want to choose their executors (the people who deal with their affairs after they have died). Executors may always call upon a solicitor or other professional if they need assistance.
You may want to make a charitable gift on your death and the intestacy rules do not include any charitable gifts.
We provide a fixed-fee personal service in our Porthcawl office, by video consultation or home visits on request.
We pride ourselves on getting to know our clients in a relaxed environment as we believe there is a wider conversation that needs to be had surrounding a Will to ensure accurate and correct advice is given.
After the initial instructions are given, we provide you with a draft Will for you to review in your own time and for any changes you wish to make.
Once you are happy with the draft, a second appointment is arranged for you to sign the final version in the presence of two witnesses that we provide.
If you don’t make a Will you die “intestate” and only those that fall under the Rules of Intestacy will automatically inherit anything from your estate.
These rules can seem harsh and unsuitable for modern family structures as they follow the “blood-line” and only recognise natural and adopted children for example. Step children or those that you may consider as part of your family will not be included although half-blood relatives are included in the list.
Unlike a Will, where you appoint an executor of your choice to administer your estate, under the Rules of Intestacy, that person is determined by the Rules and they may not be the people you want to undertake this work.
As the estate administrator they become personally liable for any loss or mistakes made during the administration period and may be reluctant to become involved or not have the expertise to do the job.
So if you are not married or have step children these people are not included in the list set out in the Rule of Intestacy even though you may think of them as being your family and may have a valid claim. They will have to make a claim against the estate if they were financially dependent on the deceased for future maintenance under the Inheritance (Family and Dependents) Act 1975.
It’s not a quick process, it's expensive and does not guarantee they will get all you would have liked them to receive. This is something that as a distressing time will cause further heart-ache for them.
