Where do we start in making our last Will and Testament?

We all know, we should have already completed the process of writing our final wishes down on paper so that in the event that we die suddenly or at the end of a long life, the people we love don’t have any problems with making our wishes happen.

In the main we don’t do this, more than 65% of the eligible population do not have a valid Will.

So why not?

I guess for one, it isn’t a great subject, is it?

Dying and giving our money away?

However, we all love someone and all want that loved one to benefit rather than someone we don’t know or don’t want to benefit from our lives work.

Some of us have children and want to make sure that if we are not around to be Mum and Dad, someone we trust will be there for them rather than letting the courts decide and in the meantime having them being cared for by Social Services.

(Orphaned children, where no Will can be found are made “wards of court” the authorities then decide who is the best person from the immediate family (if there is one)  who can take over as the parents.)

Does that sound good?

We also want to make sure that our property goes to the right people.

Did you know that most homeowners own their house jointly with their partner or spouse?

This means that if one of the partnership dies prematurely and the survivor partner remarries or co-habits with another.  It is highly likely that the new partner/spouse will inherit your share of the property and your children may not get a look in.

This does not have to be the case, there simple legal solutions to solve this issue that Will Writers use for most of their clients who they write Wills for.

I think that the issues that concern most of us, are the wrong people inheriting from us.

Do we set out in life to work hard, provide a home for our family, give our children a great start in life only to see our money snapped up by people we never knew?

How would you feel if following your passing, your daughter inherited your money and property, only to have her husband divorce her and take half of what you left her?

Having no Will is one thing, having a Will that doesn’t serve the purpose is another. You know, I believe that the primary reason you haven’t got a Will or you have a Will that could be written better is that it all sounds too complex and expensive.

Am I right?

That does not have to be the case.

I spoke to Richard Hodge, Director of Wills and Estate Planning at Family Matters and a Member of the IPW (Institute of Professional Will Writers) .

“In my experience, the art of Will Writing is using plain language with clients that they understand and making the process easily accessible to our clients.”

“Most people associate Wills with expensive lawyers and legal jargon, we make the experience easy for a client, explaining everything in a very straightforward way”.

“At Family Matters, our philosophy is simple, be available and make potential complicated situations simple for clients to understand.”