Nearly half of Scots die without a Will, leaving the distribution of their estates to intestacy, which might not lead to their intended results.
Many people believe they don’t need a Will. They consider that their family and financial affairs are straightforward, and everything will just sort itself out when they die. In fact, without a Will, there can be many unintended consequences and missed opportunities.
Why is it a good idea to have a Will? Ten good reasons set out below:
Control
With a Will, you control who benefits, and when, subject to any overriding legal rights or other claims. Without a Will, the law dictates who inherits, in what proportions and when, and that may not align with your wishes.
Choice of Executors
In your Will, you can decide who should administer your estate and follow the wishes you have set out. If you don’t have a Will, the law sets out a certain class of people who can apply to be your executor, but this may mean that someone you don’t think would do the job properly might be in control. If you have a Will, you can ensure the executor or executors are those who you would entrust with the task.
Provide sensibly for children
Without any provisions, if a child inherits, they will do so at age 16, which may not be appropriate. In your Will you can set out who you would want to be legal guardian to any child under the age of 16. You can also set out that any funds passing to children on your death can be held in trust for them until they reach a certain age, such as 18, 21 or 25 – whatever age at which you consider they may be mature enough to handle an inheritance. You can also set out that the trust funds can be used for the children’s maintenance, education or benefit before these ages if thought appropriate.
Establish Trust provisions to suit your family situation
A will can provide flexible solutions to so many family issues. For example:-
- Where your intended beneficiaries may not be able to manage funds, or receipt of funds could affect benefits;
- You may have vulnerable beneficiaries to provide for in a tax efficient way;
- In blended families you may wish to provide for a new partner whilst protecting the potential inheritance of children from an earlier relationship;
- Plan for any future possible care costs.
Tax planning
Using your Will to maximise the use of all available inheritance tax reliefs can be vital in minimising tax payable on your death, or on the death of your spouse/civil partner.
Business planning
If you have business interests, planning ahead is vital to ensure you can set out what you want to happen to your business on your death, and prepare for that as far as possible. Do you want your business to continue? Have you considered succession? What about your key personnel? Would tax or other claims necessitate the sale of your business?
Minimise estate administration costs
Without a Will, your estate is administered under the law of intestacy. Whilst you may think that is fine, if it aligns with your intended beneficiaries, in reality dying without a Will adds a lot of expense and time to the estate administration process. A beneficiary has to apply to court to be appointed as your executor, which can add a few months to the process. In addition, they can be asked to find “Caution” – this is a type of insurance policy, and the premium increases with the value of your estate. This can add a significant amount to the cost of administering your estate, all of which can be completely avoided by having a valid Will.
Avoid disputes
Having a professionally drafted Will allows you to set out your clear and unambiguous intentions as to what you would want to happen to your estate on your death. We have seen so many attempts at homemade handwritten Wills, or use of stationers’ “Wills Packs” which have ended up in court, simply because they have not been correctly drafted, don’t comply with Scottish drafting legalities, or simply are not clear enough to deal with all eventualities. The cost of sorting out these issues can run into many thousands of pounds and cannot be underestimated. Cutting corners is false economy, and can end up with your estate being distributed in a way you would never have intended.
Ensure you have a tailored, bespoke document, to suit your individual requirements
A professionally drafted Will would be tailored to your needs. You can set out your wishes and instructions in relation to any legacies for friends, family members or charities, what you would want to happen to your pets, and ultimately how you would like the remainder of your estate to be divided.
Peace of Mind
Saving the best to last, peace of mind is priceless. Having a Will allows you to do everything in your power to ensure your estate is administered and distributed as you would wish, rather than leaving it to chance and potential argument after your death. Being prepared is a gift you can give to your beneficiaries, so that this is not an additional source of stress and worry at a time of bereavement.
If you would like to discuss preparing a Will, please contact Donna Brennan in our Glasgow office at donna.brennan@weightmans.com, or by telephone on her direct dial number 0141 404 9308.
In our next edition we will discuss the importance of Powers of Attorney, but again don’t hesitate to get in touch if this is of interest to you now.
