Writing A Will

By Author: Steven Tomey
Total Articles: 8
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Making a Will is not as simple as it may first appear. Like most things in life the hardest part is finding time to stop and take time out from your the daily life routine. The best way to start is to spend several minutes on the bus or in the bath to consider the serious ramifications of not leaving formal directions to your partner or children.

Niche Wills can help you write a Will to capture the biggest issues down to the finite detail, it really is an open book, and it is your choice as to how you fill its pages. There are however two main aspects: welfare and financial matters. Having been privileged to write countless Wills, Niche Wills believe passionately that a Will is the only true medium of capturing both successfully.

Welfare needs in a Will

Your welfare and your views on the welfare of others are totally unique to you. It is hard, and some times impossible, even for a life-partner of fifty years, to second guess your intentions. Even if they do manage to draw the right conclusion another family member may have a different opinion on what your view would have been. A correctly written Will ...
... will take away the mystery.

So to return to the content of what exactly can be included in a Will? Well let's start with your health. You may be fit of mind and body now but this may not always be the case. In drafting a will you could for instance make suggestions on: your preferred medical treatment; whether you want to go into a nursing home; organ donations; who you would want to conduct your affairs if you were no longer able to do so yourself? On death do you want a particular song to be played or passage read; choose a church service or crematorium; exclude certain guests from the ceremony; have your ashes scattered in a particular spot? There is much to consider and note, and unless a Will is written one or all of these wishes may be missed. A skilled Will Writer will be able to guide your decisions until you have full of peace of mind.

Now let's consider the wider picture. For instance: you may want to write a letter to your partner or record a message to be stored alongside the Will. Then and perhaps the most important consideration: the welfare of your children.

Choosing Guardians for children is fundamental. It can be the subject of much debate between yourself and your partner, the children and ultimately the Guardians themselves, but a Will forces a decision to be made and specified. For the children's sake clarity will mean everything otherwise they may be hoisted upon unsuspecting family by the State, or perhaps worst looked taken into care.

Finance in a Will

You may associate making a Will with compiling an inventory of assets which will be assigned to various beneficiaries on death. The recording of this information does require planning and the advice of a skilled Will Writer should not be underestimated otherwise Wills may require constant updating and attention. For instance, leaving £1,000 to ‘each of your grandchildren' is quiet different from naming them individually as another child might come along. The Will Writer will also tease out whether the intention is for the beneficiary to receive the ‘gift' before or after tax. In fact Inheritance Tax is generally a major consideration, and it can kick in much quicker than expected, particularly for unmarried couples. The excess of the nil rate band is current charged at 40% which can see assets almost halve their true value. Again a Will Writer will make a Will to reduce IHT tax through their specialist knowledge of estate planning.

Most parents choose to hold back financial legacies for children until they reach a certain age, this can be specified when drafting a Will, and when combined with the use of trusts this may provide the perfect protection solution.

The recognition of children from previous relationships may be of sole importance to you and not your current partner. Making a Will will ensure they are not forgotten.

Death is obviously an emotional time and even with the most careful financial planning and protection difficulties can set in if documents cannot be found. A Will allows you to record all the necessary policies numbers and account details. Niche Wills also has a secure storage facility for Wills which can also be utilised for other important documents so that the executors can administer the estate with the minimum of fuss.

As you have read, making a Will is much more complex and involved than first imagined. A Will may only have to be written once so please do not attempt this on your own instead seek the professional services of a Will Writer and start the process today.
To find out more, please call Niche Wills T: 020 7993 2044 or visit our website www.nichewills.co.uk