How to make a Will
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How to make a Will
Ian Winterbotham is here to explain how to make a Will.Can I write my own Will legally? How do I make a Will?
You can write your own Will and make it legal. You need to word it clearly and execute it correctly for it to be valid – and you need to sign and date the Will, ensuring that two witnesses see you sign.
It’s good practice to add the Witness addresses and occupations because the witnesses should not be related to you or be a beneficiary of your Will.
Your Will lets you decide what happens to your money, property and possessions after your death. You must be over 18 and be making the Will voluntarily – not under the instructions of somebody else. You must be of sound mind and the Will must be in writing.
You should include key details and clearly identify who you are. You’re known as the testator, and must specify how you want your assets distributed. You need to appoint an executor to carry out your wishes after your death – we always suggest choosing more than one executor, to make sure that somebody will be around to carry out your wishes.
As mentioned before, you must sign your Will in the presence of two witnesses who are not beneficiaries who must also sign. The next thing to think about is storing your Will safely. Make sure you keep it in a secure place – maybe with a solicitor, your bank or the national probate registry.
Note that some small solicitor practices have been known to go out of business and leave your Will in their locked safe. You need to be confident that it’s a big company that’s going to look after your Will well.
Having said all that, while you can write your own Will, it’s advisable to seek legal advice if your situation is complex. That could involve a number of different scenarios – owning a property abroad is one of them, as is having dependents with special needs. If you’ve got stepchildren, that’s another good reason – and we will come on to inheritance tax later.
Can I make a legal Will without a solicitor?
You can write your Will yourself. But if it’s not straightforward, you should get advice – it is quite easy to make assumptions that may not prove correct at the end of the day.
Choosing the right executor is also crucial, because they’ll be responsible for managing your estate and carrying out your wishes. When you choose an executor, try to pick someone trustworthy and reliable..
Ideally, they should be organised and capable of handling financial matters. You can choose family members, friends or even a professional such as a solicitor or an accountant.
If your estate is complex, appointing a professional executor could be a wise move. Make sure too that your chosen executor is willing to take on the role, because it can be challenging. It’s a certain amount of work for them, so it’s polite and sensible to talk to them first.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a Will?
It’s important to think about life changes, such as marriage, divorce, or having additional children – these can all mean that your Will is not up to date.
Once you have written your Will, you should always consider whether it is suitable for any new circumstances. Think about having more than one executor, and make your wishes clear. Be specific, because vague instructions can lead to disputes and dilemmas.
An important issue for a lot of people, particularly when they own property, is looking at inheritance tax considerations. If your estate may be subject to taxes, make sure your Will allows your beneficiaries to claim all the allowances available.
Can I download a free Will form? Can I get a Will form from the Post Office?
I’ve had several people come to me with Wills they’ve completed with a form. But when we’ve talked about their circumstances, they’ve never been satisfied with the limitations of those types of forms.
You can do it if it’s going to be a very simple Will, but I wouldn’t recommend it in most cases.
What are the biggest mistakes when writing a Will?
One of the most common problems is not signing and witnessing the Will properly.
The witnesses must be able to say afterwards that they saw you sign the Will. It’s no good you signing the Will and then taking it to the neighbours next door. If done incorrectly, the Will could be invalid.
Another error is choosing inappropriate executors – it can cause delays if you pick someone who’s unreliable, or too far away. It’s worth taking some time to check you’ve chosen a suitable executor and also to name a backup in case the first one can’t act.
Failing to update your Will is another common mistake. Not considering inheritance tax can result in a large tax bill for your beneficiaries, so structuring your Will efficiently can sometimes reduce the tax liability.
It’s important to avoid vague instructions, as those can lead to disputes. Be specific about who inherits what. If you’ve got sentimental items, you can leave them as a gift to a specific person.
Also, if you want to exclude somebody who might have a legal claim, you should state your reasons clearly for excluding them in a separate letter. That could be extremely important later on.
If you decide to make changes to your Will, be very careful. This really has caused problems with some Wills we’ve seen. You can’t simply write notes on an existing Will. In fact you shouldn’t write anything on an existing Will because the Probate Registry may reject it.
Changes must be made through a codicil or a new Will. As a company, we always insist on a brand new Will because codicils can sometimes cause conflicts. You might write something in a codicil that contradicts something in your Will.
A modern thought to have in mind is digital assets. It’s quite possible that your executors won’t know what accounts you’ve got if there’s no paperwork. Think carefully about online accounts, cryptocurrencies and intellectual property, like NFTs, if relevant.
When you have blood children and stepchildren, or might possibly do in the future, your Will needs careful wording. You need to be clear about whether stepchildren should be included as ‘children.’ Professional wording of your Will is clear and recognised in court around whether to only include the bloodline or to include the stepchildren as well.
Of course, you may not know who your grandchildren will be. If you word your Will too generally, without a conventional definition for them, it may be difficult in the future to know whether to include bloodline or step-bloodline. If there are individuals you may not want to benefit from your estate, it’s important to make that clear.
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What should and should not be included in a Will?
You need to decide on the contents and specify who will inherit your assets – who will be the beneficiaries. You can also detail any guardians who will care for any children under 18.
You need to decide who will act as your executors and include full names and addresses. Describe their relation to you as the testator. For guardians, again you should include their full names and their relationship to you.
Where you’re excluding someone who might be entitled to benefit from your estate if there were no Will, you should include a separate letter giving clear reasons for excluding that person. They don’t have to be justifiable – you just need to explain them in your own words.
You can put specific gifts in your Will. These would normally come out before the residue, and could be items such as a watch, money or even a whole property. The residue is the rest of your estate after you’ve made specific gifts.
People often like to make gifts to charity. If they leave 10% or more of the whole estate to charity, that could potentially reduce the amount of tax payable on the estate.
In a Will you could add funeral wishes, but it’s not absolutely necessary if you’ve got family and friends who know your preferences. Some people keep a file of what they want at their funeral. If you don’t have friends and family nearby, it’s a helpful guide for your next of kin and executors. You can provide guidance for them as to whether you want to be buried or cremated, or go into more detail about the specific service.
A very important point is that you should not let any beneficiary of your Will act as a witness. Under English law, they would not be entitled to receive an inheritance from you if they signed as a witness to your Will.
How much should a Will cost in the UK? Does this vary?
Yes, it varies hugely. If you go to a low-cost Will writer like ourselves, it might be £150 for a simple Will, and maybe £850 plus VAT for a complex Trust Will. It may be less than double for a couple.
If you go to a solicitor, and you have specific requests for them to add into a Will, they’re going to charge by the hour. That can be £300 or £400 an hour in the south of England and probably at least £200 an hour in the north of England – so costs can rack up quite quickly.
What else do we need to know about making a Will?
I want to make clear that there are different rules for Scotland and different rules for Northern Ireland. Everything we’ve spoken about here relates to Wills written in England.
The big issue for a lot of people is making sure that they understand the inheritance tax rules. Sometimes, when you make a Will, you can also make sure you don’t pay more inheritance tax than necessary. You may want advice on this.
It’s particularly relevant to people who are not married or not in a civil partnership, especially if they own a property together. The inheritance tax threshold is £325,000 for a single person who’s not leaving assets directly to children – there can be 40% tax on everything above that level.
However, if you leave everything to your spouse or civil partner, there’s no inheritance tax to pay on first death. On second death, the executors can claim all the transferable allowances from the first person to die. Married couples and civil partners can combine their allowances and potentially shield up to £1 million from inheritance tax.
This is not the case for people who are not married and own a property together. They’ll usually want to leave their half of the property to the surviving partner to continue living in it. But there could be inheritance tax to pay at that stage.
There is an allowance that can be claimed if you pass your main home to direct descendants. An unmarried partner is not a direct descendant, but your children or stepchildren would be included. Careful planning can save another £70,000 using the transferable residence nil rate band, which is currently £175,000.
You can learn much more about this and about saving inheritance tax in our other podcasts.
