A Will is a legal document in which you express your wishes as to how your money, property and assets are administered and distributed after your death. If relevant, you can also specify how minor children should be cared for.
A well written Will can provide clarity after your death: • How your money is allocated.
Your assets go where you wish, side-stepping problems that might otherwise strike. • Who are the executors?
You can specify who should administer your estate. • Clear up uncertainty over your partner’s future.
Whether married or not, a Will ensures your partner
receives what you want to leave them. • Your children’s guardian.
You can name the people you’d like to care for your minor children in the event there are no surviving parents. • Securing your family home.
A Will is part of the legal documentation you’ll need to protect the family home from being sold to fund long term care for a surviving spouse.
Wills should always be prepared expertly, but they do not need to be disproportionately expensive or time-consuming. Maplebrook Wills can help you choose the most appropriate Will for you.
What dangers can occur when you do not have a Will? Your estate – the term given to describe your assets a<er death – faces numerous threats if you don’t have a Will. • Surprising intestacy rules.
If you die without a Will, intestacy rules apply. These are unlikely to distribute your estate as you’d wish. • Care costs needlessly erode family assets.
If your surviving spouse requires long-term care, your family home could be assessed to cover this cost. A Will is part of the solution to protect against this. • The bite of inheritance tax.
Your estate and the lives of your beneficiaries may be significantly impacted by inheritance tax. Without a Will this risk goes unchecked, endangering what you’ve worked for during your life. • Who’ll care for your young children? No surviving parent plus no Will means your children become the responsibility of the court and not necessarily who you’d wish to be their guardian.
• Future marriage and divorce settlements.
After you’re gone, your loved ones’ lives will eventually move on. Future marriages and divorces could adversely affect where your money ends up – but a Will can give you more control. • Bankruptcy and creditors.
The assets or money you pass on can be at risk of creditor claims if your beneficiaries are subject to bankruptcy. You can manage this risk with a Will. The correct Will can be a complete or partial solution to these risks. Maplebrook Wills can ensure your loved ones are adequately protected.
A Will is essential if you have minor children.
If no guardian has been declared in a Will, and there is no surviving parent, the appointment
of a guardian for your children becomes the responsibility of the courts. Until they appoint
a guardian your children may go into foster care. You can imagine the additional distress this will place on your already vulnerable children.
If you have children under the age of 18, avoiding this is likely to be your number one reason for wanting to write a Will. A simple clause is all it takes. With this, you will spare your children further upset and uncertainty when trying to deal with the complete loss of parents.
How Maplebrook Wills can help you At Maplebrook Wills we talk you through writing a Will in plain, straightforward terms. We write Wills every day so are true experts in this important service. We can guide you towards choosing the most appropriate Will for your circumstances.
Maplebrook Wills will give you a far superior solution than to adopt a DIY approach and all the risks of getting it wrong which that route poses. Yet we are considerably more cost-effective than using a solicitor. Maplebrook Wills complies with the strict industry rules and checks required. Alongside professional indemnity insurance, this ensures you receive the trustworthy, professional and confidential service you require when writing your Will.
For your convenience, we are happy to visit your workplace or home to discuss your needs and collect the necessary information required to write an accurate Will for you.
Other Services: • LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY • BLOODLINE INHERITANCE TRUSTS • ASSET PROTECTION TRUSTS • PROBATE • PRE-PAID FUNERAL PLANS • DOCUMENT STORAGE