Wills, Probate, Tax & Trusts Solicitors in Reading, Henley-on-Thames & Wokingham

You can buy a “Will kit” and write your own, but this can often prove to be false economy. It may not save time or money in the end and may well cause serious complications for your loved ones. Any mistakes you make, or important matters you leave out, will only be known after your death, which is, of course, too late.

Many of the mistakes are made when it comes to signing and witnessing the Will, which if done incorrectly invalidates the Will. Worse still, a badly written Will could result in your estate going to the wrong people, or result in the payment of more tax than would otherwise have been the case, and have an adverse effect on your loved ones. Read more.

Many people, including unmarried couples who co-own property (“co-habitees”) or those with young children, may not consider making Wills until reaching later life but we would caution against this. According to the Office for National Statistics, on average men have children at 33, while women do so at 30, and the average first time buyers in the UK are also 33.

If a person dies without a Will, their estate will be administered in accordance with the Intestacy Rules, meaning that their wishes may not be taken into account. This can have unfortunate consequences for everyone, including being more complicated or expensive to administer and in some cases causing serious financial problems or resulting in upsetting family disputes.

Only spouses or civil partners and some other close relatives can inherit under these rules. Legislation does not cater for unmarried couples or other family structures; for example, blended families.

You can choose to have between one and four executors to ensure that the terms of your Will are carried out and that the whole of your estate is properly administered. You can have whoever you like as an executor, provided they are over 18 years old and are preferably living in the UK. It is advisable however, to ask the person beforehand if they would be prepared to act as your executor.

You can appoint your solicitor to be your executor and be assured that he/she is fully trained to take on the wide variety of technical and administrative problems that may arise. In practice, this in no way diminishes the involvement of your family and can in fact ease the burden on someone who, because of your death, may not be able to face dealing with a lot of paperwork straightaway.