• Guardians
• Legacies
• Residue

Critical Reasons to Make a Will

When neighbours can’t agree over where one property starts and the other ends, the resulting dispute is legally known as a boundary dispute. These disputes can be a nightmare ordeal for many people for one simple reason: the cost.

In fact, most boundary disputes concern tiny areas of land which are only a few inches or centimetres wide. Land which likely has no intrinsic value, but enables some form of entry or leisure use.

There’s also the human cost of falling out with your neighbour. Taking your neighbour to court doesn’t tend to lead to cordial relations afterwards.

And if you’re a flat owner and think this would never happen to you, the bad news is that boundary disputes can affect owners of any type of land or property. In fact, flat owners and owners of terraced properties can be particularly prone to party wall or boundary wall disputes.

Possible Reasons to Make a Will

These usually depend on an individual’s specific circumstances, but possible reasons may include:

1. Ensuring the continuation of a family business if you have one. Wills can be drafted to make sure business continues as usual should you pass away.
2. Ensuring your current family and step-families are treated fairly if you have remarried.
3. Explaining why certain people have been excluded from your Will through a letter of wishes.
4. Dividing or rearranging any lifetime assets such as lifetime trusts.
5. Offering additional and specific guidance to executors of the Will, such as releasing age-dependent or event-dependent assets when appropriate.
6. Deciding what funeral arrangements are to be followed, for example whether you will be buried, cremated or donate your body for medical research.

After a general discussion about the reasons for creating a Will, you may have some further questions about what these reasons involve. Below are a few expanded examples of these reasons and what they mean:

Executors of The Will

An Executor is the person or persons who you appoint to look after your estate, pay any debts and make sure your Will is followed to the letter. An Executor can be anyone so long as they are over 18 years of age. If everything is going to one person, it is usually beneficial to make them the sole Executor. When estates become more complicated, particularly where children are concerned, it is wise to have at least two Executors, however having more can be problematic when decisions need to be made and an agreement is required. In some cases (for example, where there are family disputes) it is preferable to appoint professional executors such as our highly qualified will writing solicitors in London or Brighton.

Guardians

Guardians are people appointed to look after your children in the event that you pass away. This is most typically the case if your partner has died before you and you want to ensure there is a clear guardian chosen in case you also were to pass away early. It is possible to appoint more than one person for example, a sibling and their partner but this could be made more complicated if they were to divorce. It would also be sensible to think about some form of fund (trust) being made available to the guardian to clear and cover any expenditure.

Legacies

Legacies are essentially gifts of money or specific items such as your car or antiques. You can only give them if they belong to you and are not joint-owned. However, you may need to consider if they will be needed by a surviving spouse or civil partner. In these circumstances you will need to make some arrangements, such as a life interest to the survivor, to cover the situation. This is usually very complicated and will require input from our specialist will writing solicitors in Brighton so that the best method can be used. If you leave something to your spouse in the belief that they will honour your wishes in respect of it, you must remember they are not obliged to do so.

If the gift (particularly in the case of money) is to your children, then you will need to decide at which age they will be able receive it. They may be able to legally get it at 18 and there is no reason to stipulate a later age.

If you are making gifts of specific items such as a car, expensive jewellery or furniture etc, it is recommended that you include a letter of wishes in your Will to give all the items to one person but express the hope that they will distribute the gifts in accordance with the letter. This is a very flexible arrangement and you can change the list at any time.

Residue

This is what is left of your estate after payment of debts, legacies, any Inheritance Tax, and legal fees, but it excludes jointly owned assets which will pass automatically to the other joint owner. You must specify who is to inherit the residue. I will ask you to consider what should happen to the residue if any of these people die before you. If children are to benefit, you can specify the age at which they become entitled.

Top Tips When Making a Will

On marriage (or remarriage), your old Will is automatically revoked and has no legal effect. If you die without making a new Will, your estate will pass under the intestacy rules.

On divorce, your Will will still be valid except for any gifts specified to pass to your ex-partner, and also their appointment as your Executor. This can create serious problems and it is advised that you make a new Will. If your new Will does not include a new spouse or partner, or a former spouse, or a child, it is possible that your late ex-partner could claim against your estate. If this applies to you, you should ask for advice from our will writing solicitors in London or Brighton.