The preparation of Wills and Codicils is one of our main practice areas.
Our team have extensive experience in drafting Wills and dealing with issues of succession. Their vast knowledge on this topic makes them ideally placed to advise you on your new or existing Will.
Our team of highly experienced solicitors will take the time to get to know you and ensure that your Will accurately reflects your wishes. More than half of UK adults still do not have a Will.
Our experienced solicitors know what questions to ask to make sure that the important details are gathered, that your Will includes all the relevant information and that it accurately reflects your wishes. Some of the most important work is therefore done before the drafting of the Will begins.
Disputes can arise as a result of unclear wording and a correctly drafted Will ensures that your wishes are not left open to interpretation. Our solicitors understand the need for clear and concise wording.
If you do not have a Will, the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 will dictate how your estate including your money or property is distributed. The law of succession is not personal to you and your assets may not be distributed in the way you expect or wish. A well drafted Will can simplify the legal process for your loved ones after your death and save an unnecessary court process.
It is important that you update your Will if your personal circumstances change. An out of date Will may not reflect your current wishes at the time of your death.
A Will is a legal document therefore an incorrectly drafted or signed Will could be invalid or open to challenge. Your Will and the process that follows is your last legal act and certain requirements need to be met. The solicitor drafting your Will be aware of these requirements, which vary from country to country, and will make sure these are satisfied.
A Will is a legal document that provides details of your wishes on your death. These instructions typically include the appointment of executors and directions about the distribution of your assets (your house, bank accounts, pensions and digital assets). A Will can also deal with the care of any children.
It is important that you update your Will if your personal circumstances change. An out of date Will may not reflect your current wishes at the time of your death.
If you have a complex financial set up or family structure then your Will may require some very technical drafting. It is therefore very important to discuss this with a solicitor as they will have knowledge of how the law will apply to your specific circumstances and do their best to ensure that what you want is reflected in your Will.
A meeting will be necessary in order to take your instructions on your new or updated Will. This can either be a physical meeting in our offices or alternatively a video call using Microsoft Teams or Zoom.
Your Solicitor will ask various questions to ensure that the important details are gathered. This initial information gather meeting is essential as your Solicitor will require all this information to make sure your Will accurately reflects your wishes. Inheritance tax planning is also something that may be discussed during the Will this process.
The initial Will drafting meeting is the foundation of a well drafted Will. Some of the most important work is therefore done before the drafting of the Will begins.
Following the initial meeting, assuming we have all of the necessary details from you, we will prepare a draft of your Will.
Drafting a Will may look straight forward to some but it can actually be quite complex. a correctly drafted Will ensures that your wishes are not left open to interpretation. Our solicitors understand the need for clear and concise wording.
Once the drafting of the Will is complete your Solicitor will send this out for you to read over before issuing you with a copy for signing. It is essential that you take the time to check over all the details of your Will very carefully.
Once you have confirmed you are happy with your Will we will arrange a meeting to have this signed.
A Will is a legal document therefore an incorrectly drafted or signed Will could be invalid or open to challenge. Your solicitor will check that your Will is signed correctly and will act as your witness.
Once your Will is signed we will offer to store this for your in our insured onsite secure storage. We will send out a copy of the signed Will for your records.
Our team genuinely cares about each of our clients. We understand that communication is key and we will be on hand to answer your questions.
It is quite normal to have lots of questions about the process or the legal terms used whilst you are in the process of drafting your Will. We completely understand that the information you receive might be new to you so please always feel free to ask us to explain something in more detail. Our solicitors have put together answers to some questions that frequently come up during the course of drafting a Will.
Other than your identification documents it would be helpful if you could bring with you details of anyone you are likely to include in your Will. We will require a note of their full names and addresses.
In your Will you can nominate a trusted person (an Executor) to ensure the instructions in your Will are carried out in accordance with your wishes. Your Executor will be responsible for your estate after your death. This usually includes notifying various agencies and asset holders about your death, collating information about any assets and financial liabilities you have, paying any debts and eventually distributing your estate to your chosen beneficiaries. As you can imagine it is very important that the person you choose to be your executor is responsible and trustworthy.
Your Executor will often carry out their duties with assistance of a solicitor to ensure the process is completed correctly.
Beneficiaries are those who benefit from your Will. They can be individuals, groups of people, or organisations such as charities. Some Wills are quite straightforward and name very few beneficiaries (often a spouse and children) while others may have dozens of beneficiaries named.
Your estate is what you own at the time of your death. This is important because your Will controls what happens to your estate. When making a Will, you cannot know exactly what your estate will comprise and what assets you will own at the time of your death. Some things which you might consider belong to you will not actually form part of your estate, such as pension entitlements and assets held in trust (including some life policies).
The Testator is the person who is making a Will.
Legacies are what you leave to your beneficiaries. A legacy can be a specific sum of money, an item (anything from large assets like land or houses, down to small things like jewellery or ornaments) or perhaps even the ‘residue’ of your estate (everything in your estate after any other specific legacies have been made).
Young children can, and often are, among the beneficiaries of a Will. This does require some additional considerations. It can be sensible to include some form of trust provision so that money due to a younger beneficiary can be properly looked after until the beneficiary reaches a specified appropriate age. A Will is where many parents of young children will also specify who they wish to appoint as Guardians for their children in the event that the parents die before the children have reached the age of 16.
Yes, and indeed this is very common; in many cases the Executor(s) will also benefit from the Will. A beneficiary who is acting as Executor must ensure to keep their two roles distinct. As Executor they have a duty to realise and administer the estate for the benefit of all beneficiaries, irrespective of their own personal interests as a beneficiary. Some people do however prefer to appoint Executors who are independent of the beneficiaries.
After someone has made a Will, it is good practice to review the Will periodically. Where changes are needed, these are most commonly implemented with a Codicil. This is a formal amendment to a Will which is drafted, setting out the various required changes, and then signed and witnessed before being stored with the Will. Sometimes a testator will make multiple Codicils. A Codicil is not always appropriate; where a Will requires extensive changes, a new Will may be sensible.
In many cases clients wish to appoint one or more of our solicitors to act as executors. Commonly this is where clients do not have a close family member or trusted friend to perform this task, but some just prefer to appoint an independent executor.
