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Useful Will writing related links to sites covering specific terms and services.

Common Questions about making a will.

if you are feeling upset at the loss fo a loved one, whilst seeking out what to do about intestacy situation you may want to consider using someone who offers online counselling services. They can help you get through this difficult time by talking to you about the way you feel.

wills before intestate

If we wanted to add something to the will ie. if anything happened to my husband, my children and myself all at the same time, we would like everything to go to my husbands son from his previous relationship (his mother is currently one of the executors), would this be a problem we tried this site www.wills.org.uk an thought it was ok.

Using Online Wills services
If I use a UK online Will service such as www.wills.org.uk would this will be a legal document in Spain. My husband and I live permanently in Tenerife, own our home here and own and run a small business we now have no assets other than a small bank account in England.

probate has not been sorted

My mother in law died some while back and probate has not been sorted on his property which consists of a small flat in Leicester. My husband has been paying the mortgage on the property and the mortgage has now been paid off. I dont know where to start or who I need to contact to start the ball rolling, and I don't think there is a Will - does ths mean he died intestate?

Try FreeProbateAdvice.co.uk

if I die before making a will?

if I die before the will is made does that mean the government will make sure all my possessions will go to my family?

I am considering using an online will writing service to make sure this does not happen - would you recomment it?

protective property trusts

Do I need to consider a protective property trust with my will?

more informnation about protective property trusts

Will writers
I currently live with my girlfriend, my house is valued at approx. £300k which I own and pay for solely by myself, my total estate being in the region of £500k. I'd like a will that gives my wife the right to live in my house after my death until she either, dies, marries or want's to sell the house, at which time I'd like the proceeds divided between my children and my girlfriend in specific percentage proportions by one of your will writers, I don'tknow much about will writing could you write a will like this and act as executor?

dying without a will

my dad died without a will last week - can I make a claim on any of his estate even though he did not leave any to me?

Should I have got him to consider using a www.protectivepropertytrustwills.co.uk ?

Intestacy
Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies owning property greater than the sum of his or her enforceable debts and funeral expenses without having made a valid will or other binding declaration; alternatively where such a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estate, the remaining estate forms the "Intestate Estate".

new UK Legal Services Site
For information regarding intestacy please refer to our new UK Legal Services website. Thank you.

Mum died without Will?

My mum died recently without a Will (intestate?) - what does this mean for the distribution of her estate to myself (her son) and her daughter. How is it decided who will get what?

Thank you.

prenuptial agreements

Do you know anything about UK prenuptial agreements - I know the law has changed recently? Can this be done if I don't have a Will?

A: try www.prenuptial.org.uk they might be able to help you.

Advice on Writing Wills

My gran has made a will with a company online recently, after a family disagreement she has been told to rip it up but this wont cancel out the will ? will it ? Please advise.

Please use http://writing.wills.org.uk for information relating to will writing. Thank you

tenants in common

I am now in a position of tenants in common the house is up for sale but she will not talk to me about lowering the price only a solicitor. Can i sell my share of the property if so how do i go about this?

A: use www.tenants-in-common.co.uk they should be able to help.

more beneficaries

I have a slightly more complex will request than your form allows (and more beneficaries). Is it still possible to complete this with you?

For instance, I would like my partner to have a certain percentage of my estate providing he outlives me by say 1 week (i.e. don't die in same accident ).

A: Yes you can do this with you Will.

learning disability Wills?

Would someone who has a learning disability be able to complete a will, possibly with help from family or carers?

A: Yes

online legality?

Having just losing my uncle without a will my mother wants to get a will in place but she is dubious about completing one online and the legality of it as it will be a case of leaving everything to her only son - what do you think?

A: You should write a will. Using a service like www.Wills.org.uk or www.InternetWIll.co.uk means that the will is checked by a UK Will writer.

When can you legally make a will ?

Is there a minimum age at which you can legally make a will ?

Living in London but legally married to a British man

I am Spanish living in London and married to a British man. I own a flat in London. I don' t have a will. Do I need to write a will so that my flat and savings go to my husband in the case of death? does he need to write a will so that his properties go to me? If so, is this somthing we can do over the web and how much is it? If we went to live to Spain, would this will be valid? we are planning on moving in 4 years.

A: Sorry we can not do spanish Wills.

surrogacy arrangement

Hi. we have looked at your form and will probably ask you you to complete our wills for us. However, our circumstances are unusual and may not fit the standard entries on the form so wonder if you could give us any particular advice. We are aged 48 and 54 respectively, have not been able to have children, but are about to enter a surrogacy arrangement whereby we hope to have a child through surrogacy. In our will we want to make it clear that if the child is born, he or she would be main beneficiary if both of us died. Also that our surrogate mother and her husband should become guardians of the child should we both die. Would appreciate a reply by phone or email. Thanks.

as a joint will it states what is to happen when we both die, what happens if one of us dies before the other? does it need writing somewhere that everything is left to the serviving party?

my husband and i have 3 houses worth in total 450,000 and also life policys of 200,00 each and joint 215,000. how do we work it to we dont pay inheritance tax on it?

Will Wording

I wish to make a joint will with my husband.

When one of us were to die we wish to leave all our belongings equally to our two children and not to the survivng one of us. How do I word it and where do I record it on the form? Also My PArtner has referred me to your site.

I am currently working in Qatar where the postal service is slow and sporadic.

Therefore am I able to have my partner scan and send me the will for signature, and then scan back,

Or should I wait until I am next in the UK?

Joint Tenancy?

I have been told that I need to go for "Joint Tenancy" so the state will not take our house if the survivor is ill or old and needs looking after?

if we were to proceed with making a joint will today using the tenants in common option can you give me a rough estimate how longi t would take to get the final draft.also how long would it take to make a joint will without the tennants in common included.

Probate Advice Needed

How do I find out about the above's will. I live abroad now and was not contacted regarding her death and do not know how her will was settled. I really don't know how to find this out. I am no londer in touch with any family members (for many years now). I don't even know when she died. Please send info so I can find out please.

Unfortunatly my father passed away recently aged 83.

I have been named as an exequitor of his will along with my mother and younger sister, I have found my farthers last will and testiment in his belongings but i have also discovered that the will was not signed.

Could we still carry out his wishes of the unsigned will as over the last few years my father has suffered from dementure. We are a close familey and have agreed to carry out my fathers wishes detailed in the unsigned will.

two separate wills?
My wife and I are requiring miror wills. I note that on your on line form they are described as a "joint" will. Does this actually constitute one "joint" will or two separate wills ?

Void Will?

Recently married..
I am interested in making a will. However, my situation is rather complex...

I recently got married to my husband and had his baby in December 07. However, he has 3 children by previous relationships. The house we live in is in my name (had the house before I met him) although he does pay half towards everything and we will be adding his name to the mortgage soon.

Can you give me some guidance as to how we both would make a will to ensure:

1) his kids are catered for (by previous relationship)

2) our daughter would be catered for

Sounds awful but I would hate to think that if I die my daughter could miss out on her inheritance and my assets would go to my husband who in turn could include all of his children in the will should he die...I just want to ensure that my assets pass to my daughter and not his other kids. If you can email me back and let me know if I can make a suitable will to accomodate these needs via yourselves. My husband also has no will so can you also give guidance as to how he can ensure all his kids benefit from his estate?

Accountant lifts veil from royal wills
A 53-year-old Jersey accountant who believes he may be the son of Princess Margaret and 12th in line to the throne yesterday won a landmark ruling which opens the door for the inspection of the wills of members of the royal family, ending nearly a century of secrecy.

The ruling by the court of appeal was welcomed by campaigners for greater transparency about royal affairs. It emerged during the hearings that Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, left an estate worth nearly £8m.

Making a Will

Many people think that making a Will has to be a long, lenghty, complicated process - it does not. Making a Will should for many people something that can be done in a quick and efficient way meaning you can get on with your life. Wills.org.uk aloows you to do just this. You can write your will using our service and then relax knowing that any matters arising e.g spelling requests etc willbe delt with by our legal team.

NRB Discretionary Trusts

In a recently published article solicitor David Emery-Jones answered questions on Inheritance Tax provisions.

A particularly useful answer was given to the following question:- ‘ Given the changes in inheritance tax following the pre-budget report, is there any point in my wife and I having nil rate band discretionary trusts drafted?’

After explaining previous use of nil rate band trusts and the new provisions that were introduced in the pre-budget report Mr. Emery-Jones went on to say the following:

‘While the nil rate band discretionary trust wills have lost their appeal from an IHT perspective, this is not wholly fair, and it also highlights the historic reasons for creating trusts.

While tax planning had been a valid reason for creating a discretionary trusts, another important function is protection, whether from third parties or from reckless beneficiaries. Second marriages are increasingly common and the safeguarding of the nil rate band of the first to die may be the

preferred option if there are children of the first marriage who may be prejudiced.

Nil rate band discretionary trust wills have typically been drafted to provide trustees with powers far in excess of those granted by statute to let them operate it in the most flexible way. Having nil rate band discretionary trust wills, as opposed to more straightforward wills in which everything is left to the surviving spouse or children provides the executors with greater flexibility. If family circumstances at the time are such that it is appropriate to ring-fence the nil rate band of the first to die in the trust, this is the option that the trustees can take. They may wish, for example, to use money in the trust to benefit children or grandchildren.’

Mr. Emery-Jones then concludes with a very valid point:

‘The changes in the Pre-Budget report are effective from 9 October 2007, although they are yet to be made law by the 2008 Finance Act. While assurances have been made that the changes are set in stone and will be ratified by the legislation, this cannot be taken for granted’.

Useful Will writing related links to sites covering specific terms and services.

Wills - Intestate - Make a Will