What Type Of Will Do I Need

What Type Of Will Do I Need?

If you’re asking “what type of Will do I need” then this page should help you out. Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all Will solution, everyone’s situation is unique to them and your Will should be written to reflect this.

TheWillGuys can provide help with Wills, Trusts, Long Term Care Planning, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Estate Planning, Surrogacy Wills, Military Wills, and Funeral Plans.

Let us go into a little more detail on each one to help you decide which is going to fit your situation best.

Wills

A single Will is designed to state who will administer your estate, be guardian(s) to your child or children, administer any Trust, state specific requests or gifts and outline any wishes you have for after your death.

A mirror Will is for couples with similar intentions or desires and states who will administer the estate, be guardian(s) to any child or children, administer a trust, state specific requests or gifts and outline any wishes either of you may have after your death.

An Expression Of Wishes is an addendum to your Will which states your wishes pertaining to your pensions and any additional chattels. It is an important part of your Will to make sure your pension is passed on correctly.

We offer a professional and bespoke service. You’ll be assigned your own qualified Will Writer to handle everything you need from start to finish. You will be provided with a direct phone number and contact email address so your Will Writer is always on hand for any questions you may have.

Trusts

A Trust is a simple arrangement that ensures that any assets you leave to loved ones are looked after on your behalf once you are no longer here to look after them. A Trust would be created by you (The Settlor). You then entrust your assets to the Trustee or Trustee’s (responsible people of your choosing) for the benefit the Beneficiaries of your Will.

It’s a common misconception that the Trustees and the Beneficiaries cannot be the same person or people; they can!

There are a number of Trusts which cover the different scenarios people have. Trusts can be used to safeguard property in the event of care costs, have beneficial Inheritance Tax implications or ensure children receive the relevant inheritance at the right times. Your Will Writer will be more than happy to discuss this with you and establish which Trust is most suited to you and why.

Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA)

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a way of giving someone you trust the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf if there comes a time when you lack the mental capacity to make them yourself or no longer wish to do so.

There are two types of Lasting Power of Attorney:

For financial decisions
For health and care decisions

If you don’t have a LPA in place and you become unable to make decisions for yourself your loved ones will have to go through a lengthy legal process to gain lawful entitlement to act on your behalf. In situations like this, it is the court who decides who has the entitlement to make any life changing decisions.

Long Term Care Planning

As we all live longer we should be thinking about making provisions for our golden years. This includes considering what will happen to us if we need long term care. Here at The Will Guys we can discuss this with you and can establish what problems you may come up against and how to plan for them.

Estate Planning

Everything that you own is included in your ‘Estate’. This includes any property, investments, insurance policies not in trust, some pension schemes and personal effects like cars.

Inheritance Tax is generally paid if a person’s ‘Estate’ is worth more than £325,000 when they die, there are some other allowances that can be claimed but these are dependent on your individual situation. This is called the ‘Inheritance Tax threshold’. The rate of Inheritance Tax is currently 40% on anything above the threshold. That’s 40% of your estate that is over the limit!

With careful planning it can be possible to lower your Inheritance Tax bill considerably or even reduce it to zero.

The Will Guys can help you with this by carefully looking at your estate and giving bespoke advice to you and your family. Contact us to discuss any concerns you have with your estate planning.

Funeral Planning

We have direct ties with a truly independent funeral planning company who work with a panel of partners to ensure they can find the best solution to meet your funeral planning needs.

With a wealth of knowledge on pre-paid funeral planning they are able to offer you and your family the most up-to-date advice and plans, ensuring you and your family peace of mind.

Surrogacy Wills

The decision to enter a surrogacy agreement can be an exciting and daunting one. It’s important that all parties involved are protected. Making a new Will, or updating a previous Will, is a key part of this.

For the intended parents, appointing Guardians in their Will should anything happen to them before the Parental Order has been formalised is essential. Likewise, the surrogate should name the intended parents as the legal Guardians in their Will. This needs to be carefully worded if the surrogate already has children of her own, so that there is no confusion. If the surrogate is married or in a long term relationship, her partner should also mention this in their Will.

A clause should also be included to document that if anything should happen to the intended parents, then any unpaid expenses agreed by them will still be paid to the surrogate.

A specialist surrogacy clause within your Will can cover all of the above for both the surrogate and intended parents, and ensure that all parties are safeguarded.

Military Wills

A Military Will caters to service personnel and their family or loved ones. While the Military do offer all serving personnel a free Will, this is a basic Will with no advice given, and no room for naming an executor or the guardians of your children.

The Will Guys can help serving personnel to build a Will tailored to the needs of themselves and their loved ones, with advice that caters to their individual situation – whether that includes children, a spouse, assets, or an inheritance.

Another document to consider is a Lasting Power of Attorney. This legal document gives a nominated person the legal power to make decisions regarding property, financial assets, or health and welfare. This can be important to have in place for if the serving person is absent for long periods, or is frequently uncontactable.

Click Here For A Free Guide To Making Your Will

National Will Registration

A common phrase we often hear is: “I’ll tell them (children/friend/spouse) where my Will is, and they’ll remember”. But, what if they don’t? It is somewhat naive to expect someone to remember the details of the company who drafted/hold a Will for you – you may not even remember yourself.

Furthermore, your trustees may not be there to remember where your Will was located. Therefore, your surviving loved ones might not be able to access your final Will. You want to ensure that your estate and assets pass on to who you want it to. So, it’s only right that our team register our clients’ signed Wills with Certainty, the National Will Register.

Registration records the existence and tags the location of your Will on the National Will Register, so that the people you have left your estate to, or your executors, can find it when you have passed away. This ensures that if beneficiaries and executors forget where you Will is located, it can be easily found by performing a Register Will Search.

How do I register my Will?

TheWillGuys register the Will free of charge!

Certainty, National Will Register normally charge a fee of £30, but if you write a Will with us we register it for free.