Making a Will is the point at which your intentions stop being assumptions and become instructions. The process itself is straightforward once you understand what is being asked of you, and the steps below set out what a properly drafted Will involves in England and Wales.
1. Take stock of what you own
Begin with a written list: property, savings, ISAs, investments, pensions, life assurance, business interests, vehicles and anything of significant sentimental value. Note how each is held, because jointly owned assets and pensions often pass outside your Will and need separate attention.
2. Decide who inherits, and in what shares
Name your beneficiaries and set out the proportions. Consider what should happen if a beneficiary dies before you, whether any gift should be delayed until a child reaches a certain age, and whether a share should be held in Trust rather than paid outright.
3. Choose executors and guardians
Executors carry out the terms of your Will, so choose people who are organised, willing and likely to outlive you. Two is usually sensible. If you have children under eighteen, appoint guardians in the same document.
4. Think about Inheritance Tax before you draft
The Nil Rate Band is £325,000 and anything above the available allowances is taxed at 40%. How your Will is written affects the eventual bill, so Inheritance Tax planning belongs at the drafting stage rather than after it.
5. Have the Will drafted properly
Shop-bought templates and online forms are inexpensive, and that is usually where their advantages end. Ambiguous wording, missing residue clauses and gifts that fail are the common causes of disputes and delay. A professionally drafted Will records your instructions in language a court will not have to interpret.
6. Sign and witness it correctly
You must be eighteen or over and of sound mind. Sign the Will in the presence of two witnesses, who then sign in your presence. Witnesses must not be beneficiaries or married to a beneficiary, or the gift to that person fails. An incorrectly witnessed Will is invalid, whatever it says.
7. Store it safely and tell your executors
Keep the original somewhere secure and make sure your executors know where it is. A Will that cannot be found is of no use to anyone. We store our clients' documents and keep a record of what has been signed and when.
8. Review it when life changes
Marriage, divorce, children, a new property, a business sale or a substantial inheritance are all reasons to revisit your Will. Marriage revokes an earlier Will in most cases, and divorce changes how gifts to a former spouse are treated.
What a Will does not cover
A Will speaks only from the moment of death. It does nothing if you lose mental capacity during your lifetime, which is the role of a Lasting Power of Attorney, and it does not by itself protect an inheritance from divorce, creditors or future care costs. For that, most families combine a Will with bloodline planning.
Without a Will
The Rules of Intestacy decide who inherits. A spouse does not automatically receive everything, unmarried partners may receive nothing at all, and the people you would have chosen may be left out entirely. It is a rigid outcome imposed in the absence of instructions.
If you would like your Will reviewed or drafted, we can talk through your circumstances and set out what we would recommend, with no obligation.