The first of the 3 D’s – Death

In his recent show Martin Lewis mentioned preparing for your death.

Thinking about your death and what would happen to your estate is very practical but something we all naturally avoid. It is however inevitable! At BWK we believe it is really important to have these difficult conversations. We aim to make the process as easy and straightforward as possible, and once you have had the conversations and made plans, you can rest easy knowing you have done your best for your estate and loved ones.

A Will is the document that specifies where you want your estate to go on your death. If you die without a Will then your estate will be distributed in accordance with the intestacy provisions. Broadly speaking the intestacy provisions follow your closest blood relatives, but that may not necessarily be what you want. We rarely draft a Will which exactly follows the intestacy provisions, which suggests they are not suitable for most people.

Even with a simple Will that does benefit your closest relatives, you have the opportunity to name executors (the people responsible for administering and distributing your estate) and guardians of any minor children. Having a Will also makes your estate much easier to administer.

Whilst we will always try and make a Will which accommodates changes to your family structure (for example having more children or grandchildren), we advise that you review your Will every 5-8 years, and especially when your circumstances change. A Will is revoked on marriage and a divorce can alter how a Will is interpreted.

Any Will review should include a consideration of your assets and how you hold them, especially if any assets are jointly owned. Some jointly held assets will pass automatically to the joint owner on the death of one of the parties. This is administratively easier, but is it what you want to happen? Would you prefer to protect your share in the joint asset?

We can often offer fixed fees for Wills, and an initial free half hour meeting. If you want to sort out the first of the ‘D’s’ please contact our Private Client Department on either 01296 747 151 or 01494 870 075.