This should help reduce the costs involved. To save time and reduce costs when going to a solicitor, you should give some thought to the major points which you want included in your will. You should consider such things as:. You should make a list of all the people to whom you wish to leave money or possessions. These people are known as beneficiaries. You also need to consider whether you wish to leave any money to charity.
These people are known as the executors. Executors are the people who will be responsible for carrying out your wishes and for sorting out the estate. They will have to collect together all the assets of the estate, deal with all the paperwork and pay all the debts, taxes, funeral and administration costs out of money in the estate. It is not necessary to appoint more than 1 executor although it is advisable to do so - for example, in case one of them dies. It is common to appoint 2, but up to 4 executors can take on responsibility for administering the will after a death.
It is important to choose executors with considerable care since their job involves a great deal of work and responsibility. You should always approach anyone you are thinking of appointing as an executor to see if they will agree to take on the responsibility.
If someone is appointed who is not willing to be an executor, they have a right to refuse. If an executor dies, any other surviving executor s can deal with the estate. If there are no surviving executors, legal advice should be sought. For more information about what executors have to do, see Dealing with the financial affairs of someone who has died. This means the person must be fully aware of the nature of the document being written or signed and aware of the property and the identify of the people who may inherit and.
A witness or the married partner of a witness cannot benefit from a will. If a witness is a beneficiary or the married partner or civil partner of a beneficiary , the will is still valid but the beneficiary will not be able to inherit under the will. Although it will be legally valid even if it is not dated, it is advisable to ensure that the will also includes the date on which it is signed. If someone makes a will but it is not legally valid, on their death their estate will be shared out under certain rules, not according to the wishes expressed in the will.
For more information about the rules if someone dies without leaving a valid will, see Who can inherit if there is no will — the rules of intestacy. The requirements for a valid will are less stringent for service personnel on active service. Such wills are known as privileged wills. If you need further help about privileged wills, you can contact your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau or seek legal advice.
Once a will has been made, it should be kept in a safe place and other documents should not be attached to it. There are a number of places where you can keep a will If you wish to deposit a will in this way you should visit the District Registry or Probate Sub-Registry or write to:. Someone close to you may have died and you think they made a will but you can't find one in their home. Check to see if you can find a certificate of deposit, which will have been sent to them if they arranged for the will to be kept by the Principal Registry of the Family Division.
Even if you can't find a certificate of deposit, you can still check with the Registry to see if they hold the will. If the person died in a care home or a hospital you could check to see if the will was left with them. You should also contact the person's solicitor, accountant or bank to see if they hold the will. The person who has died, or their solicitor, may have registered their will with a commercial organisation such as Certainty www.
You can also ask the company to contact solicitors in the area where the person lived to ask if they hold a will. If you can't find a will, you will usually have to deal with the estate of the person who has died as if they died without leaving a will.
For more information, see Who can inherit if there is no will — the rules of intestacy. When someone dies, the person who is dealing with their estate for example, money and property must usually get authorisation to do so from the Probate Service.
When probate is granted, the will is kept by the Probate Service and any member of the public can get a copy. If you want to search for the will of a person who died recently, you can apply to the Probate Service for a standing search to be made. They will check their records to see if a grant of probate has been made in the twelve months before your application, and they will continue to check for six months afterwards.
If a grant has been made, they will send you a copy of the grant and a copy of the will, if any. A fee is payable. You can renew your search at the end of 6 months for a further fee. It may be advisable to wait 2 or 3 months after the death before you apply for a search. You can find out how to apply for a standing search and how much it costs on GOV. If you want to do your own search, or if you want to search for the will of someone who died more than twelve months ago, you can do a general search.
To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies. Hide this message. Home Births, deaths, marriages and care Death and bereavement. Making a will. Executors can inherit from your estate as beneficiaries - except if they're also a witness. Your will can cover a large scope of situations, from who will inherit your assets to who will look after your children.
Before writing your will, it's worth identifying all the assets you own, as well as any sentimental items you'd like to leave to loved ones. You should also work out arrangements for your children's care, and consider whether you'd like to leave specific instructions for your funeral. You can find out more in our guide: What to put in your will.
No matter how thorough your will is, there's likely to be part of your estate that isn't accounted for. As such, it should include a 'residuary gift', that sets out who will inherit anything not otherwise given away by the will. If the will doesn't have a residuary gift, the remainder of the estate will be divided up according to the laws of intestacy.
If you want to change your will at a later date, you'll need to make a codicil or a new will. A codicil is an additional document setting out any changes you'd like to make, signed and witnessed in the same way as your will though not necessarily by the same people.
Make sure the instructions you leave are easy to understand and follow, as you won't be around to explain your reasoning. Before writing a will, it's worth thinking about who will inherit your most important assets and any other wishes for your estate.
You can plan out your will, including your executors and beneficiaries, with our wills planner tool. If you and a spouse or partner want substantively the same wills - known as mirror wills - you'll usually get a discount for writing both at once.
For a more specialist will, such as one that includes trusts, the cost goes up. If one company is much cheaper or more expensive than the others, ask yourself why this is. When writing a will, many people choose to take the DIY route rather than seek professional assistance. You can also opt to write the will yourself and have a professional review it, which will often be for a lesser fee.
This will be the most expensive option, but it could potentially save your family an inheritance tax bill, and certainly provide peace of mind. With your lawyer, you can discuss exactly what you want the will to achieve and how to avoid ambiguities. Solicitors are qualified and regulated, so you or your dependents will be able to seek compensation if problems arise with the will. The regulating bodies depend on where you live:. Expect to pay a few hundred pounds to hire a lawyer to write your will.
The exact cost will depend on the complexity of your affairs. If your estate is quite complex, a good lawyer might be able to help you consider putting assets into trust. Find out more: inheritance tax: thresholds, rates and who pays. If you don't want to pay for a solicitor, but would like some guidance, you could consider using a will-writing service.
This option is useful if your circumstances are relatively straightforward — more complex cases may require a solicitor's expertise. Not all will-writers are qualified or regulated. Make sure the will-writer you choose is recognised by a regulatory body within the industry, or by a regulated individual, like a solicitor.
Beware free will-writing services, or companies, that name themselves as executors of your will after you pass away. Your estate will generally face steep legal fees down the line when it comes to administering your estate.
These charges will still apply if the estate is very straightforward, or if most of the probate work is done by someone else.
Once you have made a will, you have to decide where to store it. You have several options, depending on your preference. Whichever you choose, it's vital that it's stored safely and securely.
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