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Nobody likes to think about their own death, however, sometimes it is essential to plan for what will happen to your estate after you die. For this reason, it may be important to start thinking about making a will. 

A will is designed to make sure that your estate and everything that you own will go to the people and the causes that you care about. 

If you don’t have a will in place, then your money and property may not pass to the people that you intend it to. For example, if you are not married to your partner, then your estate will not transfer to them unless you have a will in place that specifically makes that instruction. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at making a will. 

Where To Start

When it comes to making a will, you do have a couple of different choices. You could use a lawyer such as Pilkington Shaw Solicitors to create the document. This will be the least stressful option as you will have thorough support throughout the entire process. You could also have your will made up through a charity, the bank, or you could even make the will yourself. 

If you choose to make the will up yourself, then you will need to get it signed and make sure that it is legally binding. Just making a will does not make it a legal document. You should get some advice before you commence this route. 

Make A Decision About How You Would Like To Divide Your Estate Up 

Deciding who you would like to leave your estate or parts of your estate to is important. This is not a decision that you should take lightly. You will need to make it very clear what you would like to happen to your entire estate. You should think about a few different factors. 

• Firstly, decide who you would like to benefit from your will. This could be one person, or it may be several people. 
• You should think about whether you would like to give any special gifts to any particular people. For instance, you may have a watch with sentimental value that you would like to leave to a special friend or relative. 
• Decide on where you would like the residue of the estate to go. This means any money that is left over after the funeral has been paid for and the administration costs, taxes, and legacies have all been paid. 
• Think about what will happen to your estate if any of the beneficiaries dies before you do. 

Leaving A Donation To Charity 

If you plan on leaving a donation to charity in your will, then it is essential that you provide all of the right information.  This should include the full name of the charity, the address, and the registered charity number. 

If you fail to provide the full information or the details are not correct, it may mean that your money cannot be donated to them and they won’t receive anything. 

Select Your Executors 

The executors of your will are the people who will be responsible for distributing your estate in the event of your death. 

It is important to understand exactly how much work and responsibility is involved in being an executor. When selecting you would like to appoint to this, consider how well equipped they are to deal with the task. 

Sign Your Will 

It is essential that you sign your will once you have written it. This should be done in the presence of two independent witnesses in order for it to be valid. Your witnesses shouldn’t be people who will benefit from your will. In fact, beneficiaries shouldn’t even be in the room when the will is signed and you should avoid asking an executor of the will to sign it. 

Store Your Will 

You will need to leave your will with a solicitor, the bank, or store it safely in your own home. You could also file it with the probate service. 

You will need to make sure that your executors know exactly where they can access your will in the event of your death. You should make sure that you don’t attach any documents to your will as these may leave marks from the paperclips or staples. This might prompt questions about whether or not anything is missing from the will. 

How Can You Be Sure Your Will Is Valid?

There are several stipulations that need to be met in order for your will to be valid. You must have put your will into writing, it must be signed by you, and witnessed by two people who are not named in the will. You must have the mental capacity needed to make the will and you must have made it of your own free will and without any external pressure. 

Any new will should state that it revokes any previous wills. All old wills should then be destroyed.