Who Needs a Will?
Why Make a Will?

Making a Will is Particularly Important If:

You have young children
The will should be used to nominate a legal guardian, and set up financial arrangements for the children should both you and your partner both die

You and your partner are not married or not in a civil partnership
As the diagram below shows, the law as it currently stands would leave your partner with NO bequest at all, unless the assets are held in Joint names

You re-marry and your estate is worth more than £250,000
If you don't make a Will, your spouse could be forced to sell the family home or other assets to meet the share of the estate that must be paid to other family members

Your estate is significantly over the current nil rate band
If you do not make a will, you can see from the diagram, that your estate may not all go to your spouse.

The diagram below shows what happens to your estate
in England and Wales if you don't make a will

		Are you Married?
Spouse gets everything		Is your Estate worth more than £250,000?	Do you have children?		Shared equally between them. Partner NIL
Spouse gets first £250,000 and a life interest in half the remainder. Children get the rest (in trust if minors)		Do you have Children?	Do you have parents?		Shared equally between them. Partner NIL
Spouse gets first £450,000 plus half the balance. Rest shared between parents		Do you have parents?	Do you have brothers and sisters?		Shared equally between them. Partner NIL
Spouse gets first £450,000 plus half the balance. Rest shared between brothers and sisters.		Do you have brothers and sisters?	Do you have grandparents?		Shared equally between them. Partner NIL.
	Everything goes to Spouse		Do you have Uncles and Aunts		Shared equally between them. Partner NIL
			Everything usually goes to the Crown. Partner NIL.

Based on current law March 2009

Having no Will means:

• If you are married and have children, your spouse may only inherit half of your estate
  
  
• If you are married without children your spouse may have to share your estate with your mother and father
  
  
• If you live with a partner but are not married, he or she may get nothing at all - whether or not you have children together
  
  
• If you have separated your spouse will still inherit part of your property
  
  
• If you die before your children reach 18 the court will decide who brings them up as Guardians
  
  
• If you have no relatives alive everything goes to the Crown

Making a Will means:

• You choose your beneficiaries - not the state.
  
  
• You decide who the Guardians of your children will be
  
  
• You make provision for your loved ones
  
  
• You can specify the type of funeral you want
  
  
• You decide who will carry out your wishes after your death. An Executor can be a relative, friend and also a beneficiary
  
  
• You have been organised and thoughtful to the people left behind
  
  
• You may have been able to reduce or avoid the payment by your beneficiaries of Inheritance Tax

Don't put it off any Longer

- A will is not expensive, however it does determine where your estate goes

- If you are living with a partner in a house, they may be forced out - is this what you really want to happen?

- A will can always be changed

- Do seek good legal advice

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