Making a last will and testament

Why make a Will?

If you own any assets, you need a Will.

You may think it’s not necessary to write a Will, but even if your estate is worth only £5000 you should write a Will just to let others you have left behind, know what your wishes were.

Of course if your estate is worth £200,000 clearly there is a more definite need.

If YOU make a Will, YOU decide who the beneficiaries will be and not the Government or say a member of the family who may not have known what your wishes would have been.

Also it’s important to appoint someone responsible to administer your estate, someone you trust to make decisions about your estate when you are no longer around.

When should you make a Will?

The best time to make a Will is when you buy your first property, you probably will have acquired some equity and you may have insured yourself against death to cover the mortgage. This would mean that you would have an estate that could be worth anything from £150,000 upwards.

So as you can see there would be a definite need for a Will, if you wanted to ensure that your estate was properly administered for such a large amount of money.

Bear in mind that your contents in the property are also part of your estate and you may wish for them to go to a particular relation or friend. This again is a good reason to make a Will.

If you are buying a property jointly, you may want to make a provision for your partner rather than your family or relations.

The law sets out clear rules about what happens to your estate ie: property, personal possessions and cash, should you die without a Will.

Bear in mind that should you get married; you Will need to write a new Will as marriage automatically revokes a prior Will.

There are many other issues regarding making a Will and our advisers at Michael Usher Mortgage Services can help guide you in the making of a Will that helps to ensure your wishes are followed after you have passed a way.

Please call us for a private appointment and we'll put your mind to rest by taking care of all the legal formalities.

Points to consider

• Do you want your spouse to automatically inherit everything you leave?  
• If you are planning to have children, you will need to provide for them, not just financially.   
• Who will bring up your children if you both pass away?  
• Do you want your children to receive any money from your estate when they are 18 or when they are older?
• If your estate becomes more valuable, you may have to review it.  

 THE FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY DOES NOT REGULATE WILL WRITING