Should I Make a Will?

Don t leave your family and children with extra expenses and hassle.
People who die without a valid will, or intestate, leave complications and costs to their loved ones and often gift thousands of £’s to the Country in what may be avoidable Inheritance Tax (IHT).

The Law Society says that anyone with assets and family or friends should make a will, irrespective of their years. It is particularly important if you are not married to your partner, because the law does not give partners the same automatic rights of inheritance as spouses.
Assets which are jointly owned by unmarried partners on a joint tenancy basis would still go to automatically to the surviving partner under the rules of survivorship. Under the current intestacy rules, an unmarried partner has no rights to property or assets that were not jointly held (although the Law Commission has of late proposed to change this).

Preparing a will is also critical if you have children, as you can nominate guardians to care for them.

It is critical to create a list of assets and debts and their approximate worth. Include your properties, investments, savings, insurance policies and pensions.
In addition, think about personal legacies. Simply informing a family member that an item will be his or hers one day could cause trouble later.

You should take professional advice on IHT planning as part of writing your will. Easy measures could save the beneficiaries of more affluent homeowners thousands of pounds in taxation.

A vital element of creating a will is the naming of executors to make sure that your will instructions are executed.

You should also update your will every 5 years or so and whenever your circumstances are altered by a significant life event, such as marriage, divorce or a birth or death in the close family. Another instance would be after a house buy or move.

Whoever makes up your will, make sure one copy is kept safe or deposit 1 with a probate registry.

Consilium Asset Management offer inheritance tax planning advice in South Gloucestershire