Around 70% of people in the UK either don’t have a Will, or have one that’s not up to date. If this is you then unfortunately this means that following your death, the law will direct who inherits your assets, not you.
The Covid pandemic has seen a surge in people updating their Will in the UK, and Hannah Berridge, Head of Wills and Probate at SMH wants to help you make sure that your wishes are guaranteed for the future by making it easier and clearer for your family to sort things out when you are gone.
Here’s the key reasons you should be updating your Will in 2022, especially if you have kids:
Choose who will care for your children
You can appoint guardians to act for your children in the event that you die before the child reaches the age of 18. A guardian takes on the same parental rights and responsibilities that a parent had – so they will be responsible for the child’s health, welfare and wellbeing and will also have the right to make decisions for the child, such as living and schooling arrangements. Writing a Will gives you the choice to nominate a guardian, rather than a court making that decision.
Put your assets in Trust for your children
If you’re leaving assets to your children in your Will, you can put them into trust until they reach a particular age. If no age is specified, then the children would receive inheritance at 18, which most people think is quite young to inherit money, and so common ages above this are 21 or 25. Also with a trust, you can nominate trustees to manage the trust funds and make decisions about how and when the trust funds are used for the child’s benefit – for example education, property or a monthly allowance.
Provide for step-children and your partner
If you have step-children, then they won’t automatically inherit anything from your estate. This may also be the case for anyone else that you care for – foster children and any dependent adults that rely upon you. To avoid accidentally leaving things in a way you no longer intended it pays to keep your Will up-to-date with your current wealth and family circumstances.
Choose who will wrap up your estate in your passing
The person who serves as an executor will manage the court process for wrapping up your estate and will have to make many decisions affecting your children’s inheritance. If you want to choose who would be your executor(s) then you need to make a Will. Using your Will to state your preferences will minimise family conflict over this issue, allowing the focus to remain on taking care of your kids.
Decide how your estate will be split
The standard approach to dividing up property to family members may not be what you want, and many small choices will be left to your executor. They will have to make judgment calls about how to divide property that can’t actually be divided (cars, animals, furniture etc), including decisions about which items should be sold. So if you have any assets or belongings that you want to leave to specific children, or if you want one child to get more than another, you must make a Will to set out your choices and wishes, otherwise your executor will be obligated to make an even split as judiciously as possible.
Only 1 in 3 people in the UK have a Will, so if making a Will or updating an existing one is on your mind, you can contact Hannah in the SMH Wills & Probate team for advice and information. She understands that it can be a daunting prospect, and can support you to make the experience as stress-free as possible whilst giving you advice and peace of mind.
