Who needs a Will?

Many people, particularly young adults, think they have no need for a will.

Imagine a young lady, unmarried but living with her partner in a home they bought together.

Two months before the wedding, she is critically injured in a car accident and later dies.

Who do the doctors update?

Who decides about the type of care she should receive?

And what happens to the house she bought with her partner?

These are all reasons why every adult, no matter their age or family status, needs basic estate-planning documents that dictate their wishes if they die or become incapacitated.

Members of the Military service should strongly consider devising a Will. Because of the risk involved in their jobs, it is imperative they have peace of mind and that their wishes are followed in the event of their death.

In fact, almost 65 per cent of people in Britain do not yet have a Will – taking away the control they have over what happens to their money and belongings when they die.

Making assumptions that your money and belongings will automatically go to your partner, children or parents should be avoided as there are many conditions in probate law that mean your estate is at risk if you die intestate.

The Solution?

By taking the time to make a Will now you can ensure that your loved ones receive exactly what you want them to instead of the law deciding who gets what.

WAP UK offer a friendly and flexible Will writing service. The team visit you in your home or wherever you are more comfortable, at a time that suits your life.

Your consultant will provide advice and guidance about the best ways to plan your estate and take detailed instructions with which to make your Will.

Once this process has taken place, your Will is drafted by professional and knowledgeable Will writers to ensure your wishes are followed in the event of your death.

Why do I need a Will?

Thinking about making a Will is something that the majority of us would rather put off – a job for the future, for old age, for any other time than now, but it shouldn’t be.

Why? It’s really quite simple, if you die intestate (without a Will) what is already a stressful and upsetting time for your loved ones will be made worse by having your assets distributed according to the law rather than your wishes.

The Wills and Probate Guarantee

As a member of the Society of Will Writers, WAP UK guarantees the advice and Wills that we produce, comply with the law and will represent your wishes in the way you intended.

Making Your Will

Making a Will is the only way to ensure that your wishes are carried out after your death. If you do not make a valid Will, your property will pass according to the Law of Intestacy. This may not happen the way you would have wanted and also takes much longer than if you have had a will. During this time your beneficiaries may not be able to draw money from your estate.

SINGLE?

You will want your estate divided amongst friends, relatives and charities of your choosing and in the proportions you want.

MARRIED?

Don't assume "my other half will get everything". Brothers and sisters or parents may have a claim. Often you children have a right to part of your estate. If you are living as a couple but not officially married, you may be treated as a single person and a surviving partner may get nothing at all.

A PARENT?

You should consider who would look after your children in the event of your death. This is particularly important in the case of one parent families or unmarried parents living together. A valid Will nominating guardians is invaluable in such cases. If no one knows what you would have wanted, the Court will decide on the future of your children.

RETIRED?

Maybe you made a Will a long time ago. It probably needs updating to include additional grandchildren or deletion of persons you no longer feel you wish to leave anything to.

For more information, or to speak to one of our team, visit wapuk.co.uk

Shoking Statistics Released

Internet advice company unbiased.co.uk have recently carried out a survey into Wills. The study revealed that only 1 in 5 people have updated their Will in the last 10 years. Personal finances can change dramatically over a period of 10 years, it is important that people make sure their Wills are up to date to ensure their personal wealth is left as exactly as they wish at the time of their death.

Worryingly 10% of the people questioned had undergone a relationship change, such as a divorce or getting re-married, in the past 10 years and have not updated their Will to reflect this.

WAP UK can give you the advice you need when your circumstances change.

Have you thought about care home fees?

Evidence suggests that anything between 40,000 and 70,000 homes are sold each year to cover the owner’s care fees. Parents are seeing nest eggs which they had built up as intended inheritances for their children decimated extremely quickly once in care.
With advance planning, this need not be the case.

There are ways to protect the family home for the next generation, contact WAP UK on 0800 043 2811 to find out all the information you need.

Willing A Way to Avoid Trauma

If ever there was a cautionary tale which best exemplifies the perils of not writing a will with an independent, professional firm, then it came in the Telegraph recently.

Following on from the much-publicised, recent case involving the RSPCA, this month a similar contentious issue involving a charity emerged.

Ten years before her death, a British woman called Mrs Southwell made a will, with the bulk of her assets going to her friend Susie Crichton.

However, as Mrs Southwell’s passing approached, she asked her social worker to draw up a will, claiming she didn’t want her assets to be passed to the Government.

The social worker contacted Help the Aged for assistance and, following a visit from the charity’s wills and legacies adviser, a new will leaving the majority of her £350,000 estate to the charity was created.

Predictably, in the aftermath of Mrs Southwell’s death, a legal tussle between her friend’s family and the charity ensued.

Ultimately, costs were awarded against the family, although this was followed by a successful appeal for a reduction.

Meanwhile a Help the Aged spokesperson said: “Mrs Southwell did change the beneficiaries in her first will when constructing her second legal will and testament.

“As a charity it is not appropriate for us to speculate on why she reached the
decision, but we utterly and profoundly reject any suggestion that pressure was
brought to bear.”

Had the deceased party – who may have been ill-advised or not in the right state of mind to write a will – contacted an independent firm with no vested interest in where the estate went, things may have turned out differently.

Of course, every case is circumstantial and no-one but Mrs Southwell truly knew her motivations or the pressure she was under.

However, it acts as a reminder of the benefits of investing in a carefully considered will sooner rather than later.

Hunt for Better Practice

As someone who has invested years of hard work and endeavour in establishing a reputable business, I applaud a recent report attacking the fluid nature of the wills business.

And, having witnessed at close hand how easy charlatans can infiltrate the sector, I feel it’s important that the findings Lord Hunt’s report are followed up by action.

Among the lengthy inquiry into solicitors’ regulation, the report said: “Fellow citizens would surely be taken aback to learn that anyone can currently set himself or herself up as a will-writer and also some aspects of probate activity can take place outside the regulatory net.”

Lord Hunt also said: “Simple mistakes can lead to unjust outcomes and those outcomes will often occur a long time after the will has been written.”

For every firm like mine which strives to offer an honest and personal service to its clients, there are a string of will writing companies which spring up with seemingly no track record or deep-rooted expertise in the sector.

This is perhaps a direct reaction to demand from a public which has, in recent years, become more aware of the need to write wills before hitting old age.

However, it is also indicates an industry which is in dire need of more governance to separate the genuine experts from the pretenders.

Aside from the excellent support available from the Society of Will Writers, the sector lacks the rigid regulatory framework of most other financial and legal fields.

This means that any solicitor who may have spent a few hours at law school reading the basics of will writing can try their hand at an art which is incredibly complex and takes years to perfect.

Solicitors often use their lofty standing to charge considerably more than mere will writers despite the fact that they may know a lot less than their fully-trained counterparts.

And then there are those will no legal background who are tempted into the practice for the chance to make significant amounts of money in a short space of time.

Of course, with adequate training and support people of any career background could theoretically become a will writer. But it is essential that they are trained by a reputable source - something which would be easier to distinguish with more corporate governance in the sector.

Hopefully Lord Hunt’s findings prove the catalyst for change and help create a system which separates the competent from the cowboys.

I’VE seen some strange disputes in all my years as a will writer but perhaps none as unusual as the recent case of the animal lover’s daughter.

University lecturer Christine Gill contested her parents’ will after her mother left her entire £2.34m farm estate to the RSPCA.

MS Gill claimed she had been promised the estate but her father had, before his death, forced his wife into pledging the huge sum to the animal welfare group.

The recent court case heard how, after her mother’s death, Dr Gill discovered her parents had made wills leaving their farm to each other and then to the charity when they both died.

This allegedly contradicted repeated assurances that the daughter would inherit the estate.

Ultimately the 58-year-old won the case, leaving a very disappointed charity and raising a number of questions on the ethics of will writing.

Although an unfortunate situation for the Gill family, the case is a stone-wall example of why communication within a family is often key when making wills.

Of course, for the unlucky few with no loved ones left to leave a posthumous gift, a charity may seem an obvious and worthy benefactor of a small fortune.

Meanwhile, it is often a parent’s wish to keep their good intentions for their offspring a complete secret - a chance to surprise them and perhaps alleviate their grief in a small way at least.

However, in a situation which involves substantial assets and family members who may be expecting something they will not receive, a few hours of discussion when you’re alive can avoid leaving a lengthy and arduous legal dispute for your children when you’re gone.

The case also highlighted the importance of the folly of making verbal promises to loved ones without thinking them through.

Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my first blog posting!

Just a short message to introduce myself, I'm Robin Ramsey, the Managing Director of Wills & Probate UK.
I will be blogging on a variety of different topics including updates in the law, financial matters, information regarding wills and general topics which i think may be of interest.

Best Regards,
Robin