It makes sense to make a Will. There is a very real danger that, if you die without having made a Will, your property may not go directly to the people you would want to benefit. Making a Will is the surest way of providing for others after your death. Yet statistics show that 75% of the UK population, that's three out of every four people in the UK, die without leaving a Will.
Someone who dies without leaving a valid Will is said to die intestate, which means that the rules and laws of intestacy made by Parliament govern the ownership of money, property and possessions (known as your Estate) and also govern who is entitled to administer that Estate. These rules are largely inflexible and make provision for spouses, children or further blood relatives in a strict order of priority.
This could mean that, without a valid Will:
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Your spouse may not inherit everything;
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If you are separated, but not yet divorced, your spouse could inherit most of your Estate;
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A distant blood relative may take precedence over a life long companion, if you have no immediate family;
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If you are living with someone, but not married to them, they may lose out completely;
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A charity you wish to benefit will lose out;
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You lose the right to determine who you wish to wind up your affairs;
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You lose the right to take advantage of tax-saving measures and your Estate may end up with a large Inheritance Tax Bill;
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If you have no immediate family or blood relatives at all, your entire Estate may go to the Government.
Anyone can make a will. While there is never one stand-alone reason for making a Will, if you are getting married, buying your first home or starting a family, or there has been some other significant event in your life recently, now would be a good time to talk to Rich & Carr to discuss the preparation of a Will . Our aim is to provide an expert, efficient service that will leave you with the peace of mind that, in the event of your death, those people who matter to you will be looked after. We are also able to offer advice on distributing your property in the most tax efficient way so that on your death the taxman does not benefit.
We realise that dealing with the administration of someone's Estate can be a difficult task. For this reason, we place great importance upon our staff giving sympathetic personal attention to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion at the earliest opportunity and always keeping our Clients closely informed. We can also advise you if you are named as an Executor of a Will or as a Trustee. If you prefer, we can take over the burden from you, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free distribution of an Estate.
Services we provide include:
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Tax advice;
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Preparation of Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney;
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Amendment of an existing Will;
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Acting as professional Executors or Trustees;
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Storage of Wills and other important documents, such as the Title Deeds to your house;
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Advising on the effect of intestacy;
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Obtaining Grants of Probate or Letters of Administration;
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Administration or winding up of Estates;
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Potential claims against Estates if you feel you have been excluded unfairly from a Will;
So if you wish to discuss the preparation of a Will, the setting-up of a Trust or need help administering an Estate, please contact one of our expert legal professionals in the Probate Department today.