If you don’t have a will in place, it could be because you’ve just not got round to it yet.
But you’d be surprised at how many people actively choose not to write a will, often for quite flimsy and questionable reasons.
So we wanted to highlight some of the most common excuses for not writing a will and debunk them one by one.
I’m too young
Many people see a will as something they’ll only need in later life, perhaps when they’re thinking about how much money they want to leave to their children and grandchildren.
Of course, many of us will hope we’ll live to a ripe old age, but none of us can be 100 per cent sure of that, so it certainly pays to have your affairs in order, and have control over where your money goes if the worst happens.
There’s also no age limit on having a will, so there’s nothing stopping you getting one as soon as you turn 18, when you might be in work, earning money, accruing wealth and starting a family.
I’m not wealthy enough
The amount of money you have doesn’t matter, as there is no minimum or maximum threshold you must meet to be able to write a will.
It might also be the case that you have more than you think. For example, given the scale of house price increases in recent years, your property might be worth a good deal more than you think, as could its contents.
It’s too complex
Working out what to do with your inheritance can be complicated, particularly if you’re worried about the tax implications, and we understand that.
However, there is plenty of support out there. A professional, regulated financial adviser can offer guidance and talk you through all the options open to you.
With the right help and support, you can be confident that your estate will be set up in a way that you understand and that maximises the amount available to leave behind to your loved ones.
Everything will automatically go to my partner
That’s not the case if you’re not married. If you die without a will, the Rules of Intestacy state that your inheritance must go to your closest living blood relatives.
So even if you’ve been cohabiting with a partner for many years and have children together, the children would be first in line to receive your inheritance. Your partner, meanwhile, wouldn’t have any automatic right to inherit anything at all, which could be quite distressing for them.
I don’t like thinking about dying
Confronting our mortality can be difficult, and death has always been something of a taboo subject.
With that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that people don’t want to make plans for when the worst happens, or at the very least, decide to put it off.
But we are all mortal, so if we have people who love us and depend on us, we can do them a huge favour by getting our affairs in order. Not only does it make the process of dealing with your estate much easier after your death, it also reduces the chances of any family disputes arising, at a time when emotions will already be running high.
If you have any questions about estate management and writing a will, please feel free to get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to help.
*The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate Will Writing, Estate or Tax Planning.
