If you die without a Will, the law states what should happen to your money and property. This usually begins with a spouse/civil partner (though they may not receive everything you own), and continues down a 'pecking order' through children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, to remoter relatives. Thus, if you die without a Will, your money and property may not go to whom you want it to. The law does not allow for specific gifts, or trusts to protect your children's inheritance from your partner re-marrying after your death and their new spouse entering the equation.
If you die without a Will, your family will also have legal hurdles to jump before being able to access your money and sort out your assets, whereas you can give them this power through your Will.
While you are legally entitled to exclude a child from your Will if you wish, simply writing 'I leave everything to child A' while completely ignoring child B, may not be enough. A child would usually have the legal right to challenge your Will, and as such, I would discuss with you specific steps we could take to try to discourage such a challenge and/or minimise the risk of a challenge succeeding.
I'm married but I have two children from my first marriage – how can I protect them in my Will?
Where people have remarried after having children, trusts or gifts when the biological parent dies can be used to protect these children's inheritance from the step-parent changing their Will later, or even a third marriage. While this needs to be balanced with the interests of the couple themselves, usually a solution can be found.
One of my children couldn't handle a lot of money due to health reasons – how can I protect him in my Will?
The usual answer to this is placing that child's inheritance in trust, under the control of trusted and responsible third parties (perhaps the child's siblings, or an independent person) who can ensure that the child is not exploited. This can also protect any means-tested benefits that the child receives.
Unfortunately, where a couple have a larger estate (currently over £322,000), this is not necessarily the case. Where a person has children, those children could be entitled to some of the estate, and in extreme cases, this could mean that the surviving spouse has to sell their home to access the cash. Even if it were very likely that a husband or wife would inherit everything, a Will still has value in appointing executors to sort everything out with no extra stress, cost, and difficulty.
I don't have a lot of money – do I need to write a Will?
Everybody owns something, and even where a person has a small estate, writing a Will allows them to appoint executors to sort everything out with no extra stress, cost, and difficulty.
This depends on the extent of the changes required; however, for the changes to be legally valid, specific steps need to be taken. For example, simply crossing something out with a pen and writing new words above it would not be a legally valid change. If you have had your previous Will written by someone else, then I would not base a new Will on this; instead, I would approach the case anew to ensure I give you the best advice. However, if I wrote your previous Will, then changing it does not normally require the same amount of work as the original writing did.
When a couple writes Wills, this is usually in the form of two separate standalone Wills, one for each partner. 'Mirror Wills' means that both Wills are substantially the same, though there may be small differences such as one partner owning a specific item they want to leave to a third party, or the couple may have different wishes for their respective funerals. Most couples write mirror Wills.
Why should I choose Lakes Wills instead of a £20 online willwriter?
To ensure that your Will makes your wishes happen, I will take the time to understand your circumstances and your wishes, give you the best advice, and ensure your Will is signed properly. This requires two meetings, which may not last more than 90 minutes in total but are certainly more than a 15-minute phone call or a simple internet form, neither of which are sufficient for a will writer to advise what is best for you. I am qualified through and regulated by the Institute for Professional Willwriters and insured for up to £2m if things go wrong.
(P.S. 'Solicitor-checked' means that a solicitor checks that the Will works at face value, not necessarily that it is correct for your individual circumstances.)
I've done my Lasting Powers of Attorney – will my attorneys not sort everything out when I die?
Lasting Powers of Attorney and Wills are completely separate things and neither influences the other. Lasting Powers of Attorney have no legal power after a person dies, and so the attorneys no longer have any authority to sort a person's affairs unless they are named as executors in a Will.
If you own a business, either as a sole trader or limited company, then you would not need a separate Will for your business but it would be advisable to specifically mention business assets and/or shares in your Will to ensure that the business is not impacted by your death any more than necessary and that the correct people inherit these assets/shares and can sort things out. What happens to a share in a partnership when one partner dies is generally governed by the partnership agreement, and as such, care must be taken to ensure your Will does not contradict this.
Each legal system has its own unique laws on Wills and how property is dealt with after a person's death. I am qualified to write your Will under English and Welsh law, and such a Will would not cover property situated in other countries. In such a case, I would recommend you instruct a suitably qualified solicitor to write a separate Will covering your Spanish property; however, you would have to ensure that neither Will replaces the other one, otherwise, you could be considered to have died without a Will in the country where the Will is no longer valid.
Can I leave my half of the house to my children rather than my partner?
Yes. This often requires changes to the legal ownership of your house and for a trust to be included in your Will granting your partner the right to remain living in the house. Leaving your half of the house to your children rather than your partner can be a useful way of protecting your children's inheritance in case your partner were to re-marry after your death.
Won't my husband/wife/kids be able to sort everything anyway?
Without taking specific steps to grant your spouse or children legal access to your property and finances – and a Lasting Power of Attorney is the simplest way to do this – they may not be able to manage your finances if you were to lose mental capacity. On the health and welfare side, although health and care staff and providers do often take families' opinions into consideration, if you have lost mental capacity then a Lasting Power of Attorney gives your family far more power to make decisions on your care. Without Lasting Powers of Attorney, your family may not be able to have input into your care or even force changes to sub-standard care.
I've written a Will – can't the executors of my Will sort things out while I'm still alive?
A Will is completely separate from a Lasting Power of Attorney and neither affects the other. Your Lasting Powers of Attorney are for while you are alive, and they are cancelled on your death, whereas your Will is only activated on your death. Thus, your attorneys have no automatic power to administer your property unless they are also named as executors of your Will.
If I do Lasting Powers of Attorney, am I giving away control of my money, my health, and my life?
Absolutely not, in fact, you are prolonging control. While you have mental capacity, your Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney cannot be used by your attorneys, and while your Property & Finance one can be, this is only with your permission and to carry out your instructions. If you lose mental capacity, Lasting Powers of Attorney allow your attorneys to do what you would want them to in that situation regarding your care and finances, rather than being subject to the will of the Court of Protection and social services, who may make decisions you would not have agreed with.
How long do Lasting Powers of Attorney take to do?
Although there are some variables in this, specifically how long it takes to receive the signed forms back from your attorneys and the Office of Public Guardian's registration process, I aim to have your Lasting Power of Attorney forms completed and registered within 4-5 months of first meeting you.
Lakes Wills Ltd’s fees for registering LPAs begin from £395 for one LPA type for one person. Additionally the Office of the Public Guardian charges an £82 fee for each LPA type on application.
