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Drafting Your Will Correctly

By: John Higgins

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A legally valid Last Will and Testament does not require a lawyer or solicitor to draft or witness it. There are online resources as well as books available to show you how to create a will and some good online will writing services, too. You can write your own will at any time but it will only have power in law if it is drafted correctly and is up to date.

Drafting a will without a solicitor is viable if your affairs are straightforward. Even so, it is advisable to have a solicitor or a professional wills writer check your Last Will and Testament for any mistakes. You should get expert advice if your will is complicated, involves a business, or there are numerous family members likely to make a claim on it.

The best will writing services employ professional will writers to check the final draft of your Last Will and Testament and ask you a series of specific questions about your affairs. Your will is drafted using your responses, either online or through the post, from appropriate legal paragraphs tested by precedent.

What is a Will? A Will is a written expression of your will, your wishes and your requirements. It is a legally binding statement of how you wish your assets to be dealt with after you have died.

You may change an existing Will in two ways. 1) by replacing it with a completely new Will or 2) by adding a Codicil. This legal jargon is a way of adding new clauses to your existing Will.

Why bother to make a Will? Surely, everything will automatically go to my husband or wife? You are simply ensuring that your final wishes are legally recognised by making a will. More importantly, though, writing your last will and testament gives you the certainty and peace of mind knowing that your property and possessions, also know as your "estate" will be passed on to exactly who you want.

The state will decide who gets what from your belongings and how much, if you decease without making a will, so those who you would want to benefit may get far less than you hoped. You might assume, like most people, that your property would automatically go to your spouse and children upon your death. In fact, their share would be decided by the laws of intestacy. It could also result it a potentially long and expensive probate process for those hoping to benefit from your estate.

You should choose your own "Executors." These are the people who will carry out your wishes and make sure your property goes to whom you intended. A full and detailed description is vital when making a gift of an item and should be included in the Will. This is to ensure that your executors can easily identify every item so that they can pass it on to the intended beneficiary. Careful thought should be given by yourself and your will drafter you appoint as to how to safeguard your estate against any such claims.

It is vitally important to keep your will up to date because your circumstances may change and gifts made in a previous Will may have been impacted by inflation. You may even have arranged to make a gift to someone who has since died or it might have appointed an executor who has since relocated, become unsuitable to be an executor, or even passed away themselves.

A Will should also be made or updated if you are getting married, about to have a child, about to be divorced or are getting remarried. You must have "mental capacity" - namely that you understand the legal consequences of making the Will - in order to successfully make a Will.

Many joint owners of property are "joint tenants." This means that the surviving owner automatically inherits the property if either of the owners should die.

An interesting point to note is that life insurance policies and pensions do not normally form part of your estate as they are usually nominated to specific beneficiaries already. Check with the pensions and insurance companies to see if this has been arranged. They should e able to easily supply you with standard forms, if needed.

Finally, please remember to ask the people you nominate as your executors if they are willing to carry out the task. It may come as a surprise if they find out later. It is of vital importance that the right person is chosen as Executor because it is they who have the responsibility for administering the estate, including the distribution of personal effects and the contents of the house and the sale of the house. That is quite a responsibility.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Find out more about making a Will without using a solicitor at Will Writing Firms

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