By having a Will, you choose who will oversee the arrangement of your affairs on your death. These people are called Executors. They will organise your funeral, sort out your house and personal belongings, and carry out the wishes as stated in your Will.

Some people do not believe they have anything of value to sort out, but there will always be something, whether that is a bank account, savings, car, your personal possessions and often assets such as pensions, death in service benefits or life policies that can arise in an estate. Often, people are wealthier in death than when living and having a Will in place ensures that these assets can be dealt with efficiently and effectively.

You may also have children, your own, step or foster children who are a big part of your life, and the law does not make any provision for them to inherit from your estate if there is no Will, nor does it enable family members to simply take care of them automatically on death where they are under the age of 18. So for this reason also it is crucial to ensure the Will is clear in terms of who you would want to take for them and what financial provision you would wish to make.

There are numerous other reasons for making a will such as:-

The amount of inheritance tax payable by your estate depends on how much you have and to whom you are leaving it to. For instance, if you gift your entire estate to a spouse or civil partner, no inheritance tax will be payable and there are also additional tax reliefs available if you leave the property that you live in to your children or grandchildren. This is all explained during the Will writing process.

A well prepared Will can help avoid confusion, wrong assumptions and disputes as to what your wishes were. Where there is no Will and the intestacy rules are then contested this is very expensive for your estate but also damaging to the family relationships left behind.

The benefits of supporting a charity through your will can be two-fold. Not only are you supporting a worthwhile cause, but you could reduce the inheritance tax paid by your family if you leave more than 10% of your assets to a good cause.

In Summary, having even the most basic Will in place ensures your wishes are made clear, enables the estate administration process on death to proceed smoothly and with less cost to your estate and also can also assist the family with the grieving process as they can focus on that and the emotional aspect with the actual probate procedure/ practicalities proceeding on a more straightforward basis.