Check which will is right for you
Explore varying levels of protection and flexibility with different types of wills. Utilize our interactive tool to discover the option that perfectly aligns with your needs.
Single will
A single will outlines how your assets are distributed after death, ensuring your wishes are followed. It appoints executors to manage your estate and can include guardianship provisions for minor children.
Mirror wills
A mirror will is a pair of nearly identical wills, typically made by spouses or partners, leaving assets to each other and naming the same beneficiaries. It ensures both parties' wishes are aligned for estate distribution.
Trust will
A trust will creates a trust after death, managed by a trustee to control asset distribution for beneficiaries, offering protection, tax efficiency, and flexibility, especially for minors or vulnerable individuals
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that enables you to designate one or more individuals to make decisions on your behalf throughout your lifetime.
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What happens if I die without making a will?
If you live in England or Wales and die without writing a legally valid will, the government will decide who gets what. If you have no living family members, all your property and possessions will go to the Crown. If you have children under 18 years old, other people can make decisions about who will take care of the children and manage their finances, education and living arrangements. By making a will you can specify your wishes.
What exactly is a will?
A will is a legal document that allows you to state what should happen to your assets (your money, property, investments and possessions) as well as your young children after you have passed away.
There are different types of will available, and they each suit different needs. Is the will just for you or you and your partner? A basic will for a single person is known as a single will and is best for people who want to record their own individual wishes. If your wishes are very similar to someone else’s (typically your partner or spouse) then you may want to make standard mirror wills together.
Alternatively there are various trust wills available. These may be more suitable if, for example, you want to provide for your partner but also have children from a previous relationship. A trust will can also help to protect your estate against care home fees, or it can be used to protect inheritance if a beneficiaries is unable to manage their finances.
By making a will you can:
- appoint people you trust to look after your children under 18 years (called guardians)
- appoint people you trust to carry out the terms of your will (called executors)
- name the people or charities you want to benefit from your estate (called beneficiaries)
- leave gifts of specific items or fixed sums of money (called legacies)
- create trusts to help protect your assets for future generations, protect against residential care costs or help vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries
- state your funeral wishes
A will is one of the most important legal documents you will ever sign. If you die without a valid will in England or Wales the law can decide who has responsibility for children under 18 and who receives your money, property, cars, pets and all your other belongings.
Your will deals with your belongings (such as your property, bank accounts and personal possessions) that you own at the time of your death, not at the time you write your will. So even if you don’t have much to leave now, your financial situation could change significantly in the future, particularly if you expect to have paid off your mortgage or are likely to receive an inheritance at some point.
Making a will clarifies your wishes and enables you to give your loved ones financial protection after you die. If you are a couple with similar wishes you may want to make mirror wills, which are separate wills that mirror one another, with each person leaving their assets to each other or the same beneficiaries.
How to make a will
Many people assume that making a will is complicated, but with the right advice and a specialist will writer to help you every step of the way, we make the will writing process easy.
Before you start to think about how to make a will, there are some decisions that you’re going to need to make.
These include:
- which type of will you want to make
- who you’d like to inherit from you
- who you’d like to look after your children (if they’re under 18)
- whether you’d like to leave anything to charity
- who you’d like to deal with your estate after you die
You can either have made these decisions before you start to make your will or you can discuss your thoughts with your will writer at your appointment. Once you’ve decided, you’ll need to have certain information to hand, including the names and addresses of anyone you’re naming in your will.
When you’re ready to start the process of making a will, you can speak to our will writing team to ask any initial questions and start the process of making your will.
What types of gifts can I include in my will?
When you’re writing your will, there are a number of ways you can divide your estate:
- a fixed sum of money (such as £5,000 to your nephew) is called a pecuniary bequest
- a specific item (such as a family heirloom or piece of jewellery) is called a specific bequest
- a percentage of your estate (after everything else has been paid off) is called a residuary bequest
It’s also possible for your will to say that you would like to leave a gift to someone if they survive you, but that you would like this gift to be passed on to someone else if they don’t. This is called a reversionary bequest.
Can an executor of a will also be a beneficiary?
Yes they can. There is no reason why any family member, friend or anyone else benefiting from your will cannot be an executor, as long as they are over 18. Perhaps a more important question to ask is, are they willing and able to be an executor? It’s worth having this conversation with them first if you’re unsure.
Do I need a will if I don’t own a house?
It’s a common belief that it’s only worthwhile making a will if you own your own home, or other significant assets. But this isn’t the case, because a will deals with far more than just property ownership.
What if I don’t have anything to leave?
Virtually everyone has something to leave behind even if it’s just their personal possessions. However, even if you may not have much money or property now, that doesn’t mean that you will not have more to leave in the future. Do you play the lottery? Are you likely to receive an inheritance from a relative? As no one really knows when they are likely to die or how much they will own, the safest course of action is to write a will so your wishes are clear.
Tips for writing a will if you have young children
The first thing to consider is who you would choose to look after your children if you die. If you currently have parental responsibility over your children and they are under 18 years old, then you can appoint a guardian for your children in your will. This appointment only takes effect if there is no one else with parental responsibility over your children when you die.
You can also include your children as beneficiaries in your will even if they are young. You should decide at what age you would like your children to access their inheritance (often 18, 21 or 25). While the child is under that age, their inheritance will be held in a trust and managed on their behalf by people called trustees, who can also be appointed in your will.
Can I include funeral wishes in my will?
Absolutely, you can go into as much detail as you like but bear in mind that this particular aspect of your will is just an expression of a wish and is not legally binding on your executors.
Can a will help protect my home against potential care home fees?
Yes, writing a trust will can be an effective way to protect your home or savings against care home fees in the future.
I’m not married to my partner – should I make a will?
Inheritance laws in England and Wales do not currently make allowances for partners who aren’t married or in a registered civil partnership. If you would like your partner to inherit from you after you die and you’re not married, then you should make a will stating your wishes.
How does getting married affect your will?
When you get married or enter a registered civil partnership, this automatically voids any existing will you have. The only way your will won’t be voided by marriage or civil partnership is if you have included specific terminology in your will that references your upcoming wedding or civil partnership.
If you have got married or entered into a civil partnership, it’s important to make a new will.
Making a will and mental capacity
To make a will, you have to fully understand what you are doing and its implications. This is known as having mental capacity. You need to have capacity to understand what you are doing at the time the will is made and also at the time it is signed in the presence of two witnesses.
There are four things that must exist at the same time to prove testamentary capacity. A person must:
- understand that the document will deal with the distribution of their estate when they die
- understand what’s in their estate (this doesn’t mean every individual asset and liability, or their exact values but there must be a general awareness)
- understand if there are people who could have a moral claim on their estate, regardless of whether that person is included as a beneficiary in their will
- not be suffering from a ‘disorder of the mind’
One way to help prove testamentary capacity is to have your will professionally written. A professional service should ensure that an assessment of capacity takes place and this should be recorded on file for future reference.
Our will writing service makes the process easy
Making a will can be quick and easy if you use a will writing service to provide you with the right guidance and support. At Sandsford Law, our will writing service provides you with a specialist to help you complete each step of the process, from start to finish. Our will writing advisors can discuss your wishes, offer recommendations and help you to make a will that’s right for you and your circumstances.
Sandsford Law is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). So you can have peace of mind that your will is written in a way that is recognised by the law.
There are a number of ways for you to write a will with us. We offer an online will writing service, a telephone will writing service, a video will writing service and face to face will writing in your own home.
Can any of my beneficiaries be a witness when I am making my will?
No. A beneficiary in your will should not be a witness to you signing it. The spouse or civil partner of the beneficiary should not be a witness either. If they do witness your will, their gift could fail.
Can I nominate Sandsford Law Ltd to be my executor?
Yes you can. Sandsford Law offers a Professional Executor Service. This is a popular option with people who don’t want their loved ones to have to deal with all the legal and financial responsibilities of probate after they’re gone.
There is no charge to name Sandsford Law as an executor in your will. If we do act as executor after you die, there is a fixed fee cost which is agreed with your executor before any work is carried out.
Our probate fixed fee quote is calculated when you die and is based on the value and complexity of your estate.
Where should I store my will?
Your will should be stored somewhere safe, where your executors know to find it. When you write a will with us, we can securely store the original will for you, for the rest of your life. Alternatively, you can choose to store your will yourself.
If your Will is held by Sandsford Law then your executor will need to contact us to inform us when you have died. We can then arrange to release your original Will from our secure storage facility.
We will confirm the identity of the executor and offer free help and guidance to make sure they know their responsibilities. We can also offer our professional assistance if needed.