Who should I appoint as my child's Guardian?

The appointment of a Guardian will only take affect when there is no parent with parental responsibility for the child. This is a complex issue that needs careful consideration.

Problems can arise if each parent chooses different Guardians, the two Guardians must then agree on all matters relating to the child or children’s education and upbringing, any disagreements would have to be settled by the Court. It is advisable that parents, even when no longer a couple make a joint decision on who to appoint as Guardians within their Wills.

Grandparents are often a good choice as they may well already provide support, but you should consider the age they’ll be when the children are teenagers, if they’ll be too old you can appoint substitute Guardians within your Will.

Siblings are another sensible option as they are likely to be similar in age to yourself and could have children of their own already.

Other factors to consider are the location, should the children have to relocate leaving their friends and connections to their parents?

Finally, consider how your children will be raised, are their beliefs and values the same or different when it comes to education, religion etc.

Whoever you choose it is important to make Guardians aware and ensure you communicate your wishes in advance, this ensures they’re willing to take on the role and evaluate if they’re a suitable match.

If I get married do I need to make a new Will?

Getting married revokes all previous Wills that you may have made as you now have a new line of dependency by Law.

The only exemption to this is if your Will has an anticipation of marriage clause within, to stop it becoming invalid upon marriage. It is possible to do this within our Will. If you do not have a clause pre-empting the marriage then you must create a new Will after the date of marriage, even if your wishes haven’t changed, so that it is legally enforceable.

If you die without making a new Will, the rules of intestacy would apply, as if you had never made a Will.

What are Executors and what do they do?

An Executor is someone who is appointed within a Will to carry out the instructions within the document.

Executors are responsible for notifying relevant organisations of death such as HMRC and the department of Works and Pensions.

Executors must also settle any outstanding debts or liabilities, close down bank accounts and ensure gifts are rightfully placed with the beneficiaries named. They are also responsible for selling or transferring the ownership of any property.

The Executor is the person(s) responsible for obtaining a Grant of Probate in order to have the legal authority to distribute the estate as directed by the Will, to obtain a grant of probate they must calculate and pay any tax due.

Who should I appoint as an Executor of my Will?

Making a Will gives you the ability to choose who you would like to take responsibility for ensuring all administration is completed and your wishes are followed.

Most people will choose close family members that they trust to carry out this responsibility.

This responsibility comes with managing lots of paperwork as well as potential legal and financial issues, so it makes sense to appoint someone confident in these areas.

You may appoint more than two if you wish, although keep in mind all Executors must act jointly and the more you choose the more difficult it may be for them all to agree. You can also appoint substitute Executors should the first executors be unable or unwilling to carry out this duty. Executors must be aged 18 or over.

The appointment of a professional Executor can be a good choice, particularly if you have a complex estate or property abroad, as they are familiar with the work.

Professionals will charge for their service, we charge 0.9% of the estate.

What happens if a Beneficiary dies before me?

If a Beneficiary in your Will dies before you, the share they would have inherited is then shared equally between the surviving Beneficiaries. For example if you had 4 Beneficiaries each inheriting ¼ and one died before you, the surviving 3 would inherit 1/3 instead.

The only time this is different is when you have left a family line to that Beneficiary, declaring that should they predecease you the share they would have inherited is to be left to any children of theirs in equal shares if more than one.  This is an option available to you within our Will.

Can I exclude someone from inheriting in my Will?

Yes. The first thing to do is to include an intentional exclusion clause within your Will (you are able to do this within our Will service), stating your wishes that the individual(s) named should not receive any part of your estate.

As judges in the past have ruled in favour of claims on estates where children have not been left any provisions, it is now also advisable to leave a letter to your Executors explaining why you have chosen not to leave them any part of your estate.

Providing a reasoning why you have not left them part of your estate is very important to up hold the exclusion and prove why it was intentional. When leaving large sums to charity it is also advisable to state why you chose this charity and state any existing link between yourself and the charity, again here you are providing reasoning as to why this choice was made. This is becoming more and more necessary as the number of claims on estates is increasing.