The importance of a will cannot be over-stressed. Most people will put off writing a will even though the importance of a will is known to them.
Thinking about our mortality is difficult for most of us but perhaps it is the thought of having to decide where your property is to go that is the difficulty. Whatever the reason may be for putting off making a will many of us realise that there are good reasons to face up to the task. If you do not make a will you have no say on the subject of where your property goes after your death. It might be shared out in a fair way, a way that you would have chosen or at least close to it. However, it is the State that is making the decision for you and the result might be far from what you would have wanted and different from what was needed.
What exactly is a Will?
A will is a document that gives instructions to your executors on how you want your assets to be dealt with after you die. It has no effect until you die. You can change it whenever you want provided certain formalities are dealt with. The document must comply with a number of requirements under the law such as the number of witnesses and how the document is executed/signed.
Your will should deal with all your possessions and can also name guardians for any minor children you have. It can indicate where the money is to come from to be used to pay any estate duty and debts that are due. It will name your Executor who will be responsible for dealing with your estate according to your wishes and the law.
Do I really need a will?
If you want to direct what should happen to your possessions after your death rather than rely on the rules the State sets out then of course you need a will. If you do not make a will then you are said to be intestate. The State makes rules about how an intestate estate is to be distributed and the rules are not fixed in stone. They can change especially if the State sees it can take more duty from estates. If you leave a will then your estate is dealt with in what is called Probate.
what is probate?
If you die having made a valid will, the Executor files this with the local probate registry and asks for authorisation to administer the estate. This is part of the probate process. The Executor is authorised to administer the estate, contact the beneficiaries and creditors who are entitled to the money or other property and makes the distributions. The Executor also files the tax and probate documents with the various government departments and concludes the estate.
A Person or a Corporate Executor?
Choosing an Executor is an important decision, whether or not you have a large estate. To administer some estates can take a considerable amount of time for an executor and a relative or friend may not be end up feeling it was an honour to be named Executor.
It can often be a wise choice to nominate your solicitor or in some cases your accountant to administer your estate. If you are persuaded to nominate your bank then be warned, they will probably take a percentage of the estate and still instruct lawyers to complete all the work. The result can be a large bill for the estate for no added value.