101 Wills & Estate Planning Tips
1. Make a Will sooner rather than later. It can be too late but never too early to do it. 
2. If you have no valid Will you will be intestate on death. This means that the Rules of Intestacy apply and your estate will be distributed in a predetermined way that applies to everyone. This may be far from satisfactory for your spouse, partner and family.
3. Anyone 18 or older can make a Will.
4. Your Will must be in writing, unless made by a ‘soldier’ on active service.
5. Wills are very important documents in that they distribute your worldly wealth to those you want to benefit and can help prevent post-death squabbles over inheritance if done correctly.
6. Chose your method of making your Will carefully as there are so many ways on offer to accomplish this.
7. In principle there are two distinct routes to making your Will – with professional advice and without it. You may make a valid Will without advice but will it do the right job for you?
8. DIY Wills are the cheapest but the riskiest. You may think your estate and wishes are simple but can you follow simple instructions correctly. Many people make a bodge of flat-pack furniture despite having copious instructions available (Ikea syndrome?).
9. Online Wills can be fairly cheap and you are led to answer relevant questions to greater degree than DIY Wills. But when it comes to it, how do you know it is suitable for you and will you know that is has been signed correctly?
10. Will Writers are normally cheaper than solicitors and can provide a first class service. However some have had minimal training and may not be responsive to anything but basic requirements. There are many excellent professional Will writers but you need to be sure of their qualifications and insurance.
11. Lawyers are the traditional Will providers. You would expect an excellent product and this will be the case most of the time. The prices are generally much higher than the other methods of making your will but you are more likely to get proper advice on your inheritance planning if you have requirements beyond the basic.
12. If you use a solicitor they may try to make themselves executors by default – check on this which is particularly applicable to some online solicitor Wills.
13. If you are thinking of making your Will writer or lawyer who is drafting your Will a beneficiary you should seek independent legal advice beforehand.
14. Unmarried partners have no automatic inheritance rights if there if their partner dies intestate.
15. Discuss your intentions with your spouse or partner. Discuss your plans with your children if there are
16. Make sure your spouse or partner makes a Will.
Executors
17. Appoint your spouse or partner as an executor.
18. Appoint at least one further executor to act jointly or as a reserve.
19. There is no limit to the number of executors you can appoint but only 4 can act as Executor when the time comes.
20. Consider appointing other major beneficiaries as joint or reserve executor.
21. Consider appointing a professional executor if you are concerned about the availability or the ability of other executors to deal with the financial aspects.
22. Be very careful about appointing professional executors with an upfront fee as this may work out as an expensive option.
23. If you are considering appointing your bank as executor do find out the scale of fees, as banks are the most expensive professional executors, typically charging 4% of the value of your estate or more as a fee.
24. If you to appoint professional executors ensure that you or your other executor(s) have the right to ask them to stand down. Some will not do this so be careful who you appoint.
25. You can appoint a child under 18 to be an Executor but they cannot act until reaching 18 years old.
26. Your Executors are normally the Trustees of your estate whilst it is being distributed. In some circumstances you may want to give this role to different people
Revocation of previous Wills
27. Revoke earlier Wills and codicils.
28. Take care not to revoke foreign Wills, which you want to remain valid.
Gifts in your Will
29. Make specific gifts to family members, if you want to.
30. Make specific gifts to friends, if you want to.
31. Describe gifts w
ith precision to enable your executors to identify each gift without a problem.
32. When making gifts to charity tried to identify the intended part of the charity by using a specific charity number.
33. When making gifts of jewellery try to describe fully each item to prevent confusion, for example, “my 18 carat gold diamond solitaire wedding ring”.
34. If appropriate indicate whether you want to make the gifts free of any inheritance tax that might be payable.
Guardians for children under 18 years old
35. Appoint a Guardian for any of your children under the age of 18.
36. Consider appointing a reserve Guardian in case your first choice is unwilling or unable to act.
37. Discuss with your proposed Guardians their attitude and your attitude to bringing up your children, should they be orphaned.
38. Leave a Letter of Wishes with you Will to let the Guardian know your views on important aspects of your child’s life and development.
Identifying people named in your Will
39. When naming people in your Will as Executor, Guardians or beneficiaries give their full names and address in each case.
40. Identify each person named in the Will by their relationship to you, for example my sister Mary Jane Bloggs or my friend Harry Jones.
Inheritance Tax & Financial Advice
41. Consider making lifetime gifts to avoid inheritance tax.
42. Lifetime gifts may attract Inheritance Tax if the donor dies within 7 years of making the gift. This type of gift is called a Potentially Exempt Transfer (PET).
43. Consider taking out additional Life Insurance to pay Inheritance Tax (IHT) or even to provide cash to live on as a result of your beneficiaries paying IHT. This could help avoid the sale of important items, e.g. having to sell the family home.
44. Do not give too much away too soon in case you leave yourself short of money.
45. Your estate may be larger than you think because of Death-in-service benefits and Life Insurance.
46. Consider having Life Insurance policies written in trust to prevent any on your death forming part of your estate.
47. Consult a good financial adviser to assist with the lifetime financial planning.
48. Consider purchasing a pre-payment funeral plan. This can enable you to plan your own ceremony etc. and take away the hassle from your executor.
Will Trusts & other provisions
49. Make provisions in your Will for payment of funeral expenses and executor expenses as appropriate.
50. Consider making a Discretionary Trust if you have ‘problem’ children. This can relate to adult children who might be in foreseeable financial difficulties, for example going through a divorce, or have addictions.
51. Consider making a special Disabled Discretionary Trust to maximise the benefit available to a disabled child whilst retaining state aid.
52. Consider making a life interest trust if you want to ensure that your children will inherit if it you or your spouse remarries.
53. If you own property with your spouse as joint-tenants you may have to sever your joint tenancy if you wish to take advantage of a Will trust.
Keep your Will under review
54. Review your Will every four or five years.
55. Review your Will after significant life events such as marriage or bereavement.
56. Marriage normally invalidates you Will unless it is made in contemplation of marriage.
57. Divorce does not invalidate your Will but tends to make it ineffective or possibly worse.
Children and inheritance
58. Children under 18 cannot inherit large sums of money, so it must be held in trust until they reach the age of at least 18.
59. You can set up a Bereaved Minors Trust to hold assets until your child reaches up to 25 years old.
60. Decide who is to receive the residuary part of your estate, which is everything you haven’t previously gifted.
61. If you are going to give unequal shares of your estate to your children do sit down with them and explain the reasoning. This helps avoid ill feeling between siblings.
62. Be aware that certain people you do not put in your Will may have a claim against your estate and the ‘Inheritance Act’ 1975.
63. Certain people, e.g. close family, may be able to mount a challenge to you Will due to the Inheritance Act 1975. The likelihood of a successful claim is reduced as their dependence on you reduces.
64. To minimise the chances of a successful Inheritance Act claim you should indicate in a ‘Letter of Exclusion’ that you have deliberately excluded that person from your Will.
Your business and your Will
65. If you have a business that could still operate run after your death consider the benefits of including a business trust in your Will.
66. If you are in a business partnership to increase the effectiveness of your Will you should ensure that you have a well drafted Partnership Agreement in place that allows business succession.
67. Special IHT provisions apply to Agricultural Property and Businesses, if they meet the qualifying criteria. They can be important shields from IHT which is designed to allow farm and business continuity.
68. If you are a major shareholder in a private company you should consider carefully how to pass on your shares in the event of your death. A well drafted shareholders’ agreement can provide for a safe and secure business succession that will benefit your intended beneficiary.
Other considerations
69. Particularly if you are a young family put in a disaster clause, which would apply in the unfortunate event of your whole family been killed in one go, naming reserve beneficiaries.
70. You can express your funeral wishes in your Will that ensure that those who were likely to be making your funeral arrangements are aware of your wishes as well.
71. You can express your wishes for organ and tissue donation in your Will, but this is not particularly effective. Having an organ donor card and letting your loved ones know your wishes is far better.
Will signing -the Attestation
72. Your Will must be signed in the presence of two witnesses for it to be valid (this requirement may vary in other jurisdictions).
73. If you cannot read the Will yourself, it should be read out to you in front of the witnesses by a person who should then sign the Will on your behalf after you have agreed that this is the Will you wish to make.
74. Your witnesses must both sign the Will indicating that they have witnessed your signature and giving their address and occupation details.
75. Keep your witnesses in the room whilst you are signing. Close doors, turn of the TV and ask them to switch off their mobile phones. You need their undivided attention for the signing.
76. Your witnesses do not have to see the contents of your Will as they are only there to see you sign it.
77. For obvious reasons no witness can be blind.
78. Your witnesses should not be beneficiaries under the Will or the spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary.
79. Attestation defects are the most common reason for making and Will invalid. This aspect of making a Will is of fundamental importance.
80. Before your Will is put away for safe storage make sure it is attested correctly.
After your Will is Attested
81. If you have done a DIY Will it would be prudent to have a lawyer check it for validity.
82. Never make any amendments to your Will after it has been signed and witnessed.
83. Do not staple or attach any items with paperclips or pins to your Will as this may cause problems later – the probate registry might think there is an amendment (codicil) and so might others who are or might be beneficiaries.
84. Keep a list of documents and bank account details with your Will so your executor can access all of your accounts with the minimum of delay.
85. Keep a list of passwords that you use for access to accounts on the Internet as these are becoming increasingly important.
86. Keep your Will somewhere safe and it can be found. That means it should be placed in a fireproof and waterproof safe or facility – a service that may be offered by your lawyer.
87. Let your executors know where your Will is so that it can be located when the time comes.
88. If your Will is stored in a specialist facility part of the service a normal part of the service is to provide ‘Executor cards’ with details of how to get the Will on presentation of a copy of the death certificate – no searching and no lost wills.
89. Do not store your Will in a bank safe deposit box as these are notoriously difficult to access if you are not to the named key holder.
90. Enjoy the peace of mind you now have after making your Will.
Other Estate Planning essentials
91. Next consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney which gives the power to make decisions on your behalf if a time comes when you can’t.
92. A Lasting Power of Attorney must be registered before they take effect.
93. A property & financial Lasting Power of Attorney give powers to look after your financial interests and deal with your property including selling it if you want.
94. A health & welfare Lasting Power of Attorney gives powers to make decisions about your medical treatment and/or your general welfare e.g. where you live.
95. A Living Will might be a good alternative to a lasting Power of Attorney if you have specific medical problems in mind that you are clear about. It is advisable to get a doctor involved in this process.
96. Living Wills take effect immediately as they have no formal registration requirements. But it is a good idea pass a copy to your medical practitioner.
Probate and changes after death
97. Wills are a matter of public record once ‘probated’. Copies of a Will along with the details of the Grant of Representation can be purchased for a small fee (currently £5 (2011)).
98. Post death variations of Wills may be possible up to two years after death
99. A post death variation needs the approval of the beneficiary who is giving up any part of their inheritance.
100. If a post death variation involves a minor, court approval will be required
101. Post death variation is typically used to reduce Inheritance Tax liability within family groups or to benefit family members who have greater needs.
Author: Bill Ryan LLB (Hons)Bill Ryan Direct Access Barrister
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