A B C Guides q Family Law q Conveyancing q Age-related Law DEVEREUX & CO SOLICITORS www.devlaw.co.uk WILLS Why make a Will? to ensure that your Estate passes to the beneficiaries whom you choose. to avoid difficulties and uncertainty over the administration of your estate. to appoint Guardians to care for your infant children. to take advantage of tax planning advice. A Action : what you need to do Devereux & Co can advise you on the best way to organise your affairs under your Will and can provide you with tax planning advice to minimise the amount of Inheritance Tax payable on your death. you should decide who you wish to appoint as Executors and Guardians (if appropriate) you do not have to obtain their permission first but it would usually be sensible and polite to do so. you should decide if you wish to leave any legacies. you should consider who is to benefit from your estate and the share in the estate you would like them to have. the art of making a good Will involves considering how you would wish to see your Estate distributed if any of the persons you would like to benefit died before you did. you should consider what funeral arrangements you wish to be made. B The Basics : what you need to know Executors and Trustees are the people who will administer your Estate for you (ie gather in your assets and pay off any debts) and will then ensure that the terms of your Will are carried into effect. you may appoint up to four Executors but it is more common to appoint just one or two. if you feel it would be appropriate to appoint a professional Executor to administer your estate this firm would be pleased to act as your Executor. Trustees are only required if any part of your Estate cannot be distributed immediately to a beneficiary: this usually arises because the beneficiary is too young to inherit. The relevant funds will then need to be held by your Trustees until the time comes when they can be distributed. it is usual for the same people to be appointed as both Executors and Trustees. your Will needs to be drafted so as to give your Trustees powers to invest the funds they are holding. Usually a Will gives your Trustees a discretionary power to release some funds ahead of time if, for example, this is desirable help maintain or educate a child.
Guardians in your Will you can appoint Guardians to care for your children in case you died while they were under 18 years of age. if when you die there is another person with parental responsibility for your children (for example their other parent) then that person will have a greater claim to look after them than anyone you appoint. the Court can settle any dispute about who should care for a child; appointing a Guardian under your Will is your way of expressing your views. Legacies legacies usually take the form of a gift of personal items or of a sum of money this is how you might make a gift to a charity. legacies are paid from an Estate in priority to the rest of the Estate. Residuary Estate your Residuary Estate is made up of all your assets, after the payment of debts, expenses, tax and all legacies. in a typical simple Will spouses leave their Residuary Estates to each other and, on the death of the survivor of them, to their children in equal shares. making a Will is a very personal matter; there are no right and wrong answers. Funeral Wishes you may set out your funeral wishes in your Will; if you do this, it will be regarded merely as an expression of your wishes and will not be binding on your family or Executors. the practical approach, if the matter is important to you, is to discuss it with your family so that when the time comes they will have the comfort of making the arrangements you wanted. Inheritance Tax if you think that Inheritance Tax may be payable on your death (as it may be if the value of your estate at the time of your death exceeds the Inheritance Tax Threshold which at present is 325,000) then you may want to ask us to advise you how you may be able make a Will that is designed to reduce the potential tax liability. This is a complex subject and we can give you a more detailed Guide to it. C Cost : what this will cost you Our usual charges for the preparation of a Simple Will is 200.00 and 300.00 for making a pair of mirror Wills for a husband and wife. We are happy to store your Will for you without making a charge. Telephone or make an appointment to discuss your Will (telephone 0117 938 0222). If you simply want us to prepare a draft for you to consider, please complete our Wills Questionnaire and return it to Devereux & Co of 28 High Street Shirehampton Bristol BS11 0DL
A B C Guides q Family Law q Conveyancing q Age-related Law DEVEREUX & CO SOLICITORS www.devlaw.co.uk WILLS QUESTIONNAIRE FORM Please read A B C Guide Wills before completing this form Please answer all the questions below writing your answers on a separate sheet of paper Then : Telephone to make an appointment Or Send your answers in the post to 28 High Street, Shirehampton Bristol BS11 ODL Personal Details Full name, (together with any alias or former names) Address, including postcode Phone number, Date of Birth, Marital Status (married, separated, divorced, single, cohabiting) The full name of your spouse or partner and their address if different to yours The full names, addresses and dates of birth of all your children including adopted children and step-children The full names and addresses of any other people who are financially dependent on you, eg a former husband/wife/elderly relatives/children or step children Set out a list of your assets/liabilities together with their approximate value - please include all property owned in your sole name and - property owned in joint names with another person These may include a house, land, car, boat, caravan, savings, National Savings products, Life policies, stocks and shares, accounts, Bonds, furniture and furnishings, or jewellery. If you do not provide us with this information then we will be unable to advise you about estate planning.
Executors and Trustees The full name and address of each Executor and Trustee The full name and address of any substitute Executor and Trustee (in case your original Executors are unable to act for your) Guardians The full name and address of the person(s) you wish to act as guardians for your minor children You may include substitute guardians in case the original guardians are unable to act as guardians Legacies Specific legacies these are gifts of particular articles or items please state the full name, address and age (if under 18 years) of each beneficiary and the item(s) they are to receive Pecuniary legacies these are gifts of specific sums of money - please state the full name, address and age (if under 18 years) of each beneficiary and the amount they are to receive If you are leaving a gift to a charity or organisation then please state the full name of the organisation, address and registered charity number (if known) Residuary Estate Please provide the full name and address (and age if under 18 years) of each beneficiary and the share they are to take of your estate Eg: Everything to spouse/partner If they have died then everything to my children equally Or 50% of my Estate to my partner 50% of my Estate to my children but if they have died to my grandchildren Do you wish to include substitute beneficiaries in case all the above die before you Do you wish to exclude from your Will anyone who might expect you to provide for him/her? If you wish children to benefit, at what age would you like them to receive their inheritance - 18 / 21/ 25 / other Funeral Wishes You can indicate in your Will whether you wish to be buried or cremated? If you find that none of the above questions deal with your requirements then please write these out as fully as you can and bring them along to our meeting, ie you may wish to grant someone the right to live in your house but not to own it.