Making a legal will is no more a hassle
Making a legal will is no more a hassle
by Smith Fred
The hassles of a legal system and an apprehension of its language have led to people avoiding making a will. This is a dangerous trend. A will is a necessary instrument of law which comes handy to the family in case of sudden death. It also prevents mishandling of assets or wealth by any malice. In case, one has a sizeable asset or monetary holdings, it is advisable to have a will made. Making a legal will specifies with clear instructions as to who will receive what in terms of monetary or fixed assets. It helps in avoiding misunderstandings among any family members. A will is also legally valid in court and hence is among the most important documents of a person’s life. One must take care to see that it is not damaged or lost in any case.
One major reason most people give to avoid making a will is that it takes too much of time. In such busy times, that is a little too much to ask for. But with the availability of online will making services this situation has changed. Now anybody can just go online and make a will according to his/her requirement. These online services provide a fast and efficient way to making a legal will at comparatively cheaper rates. All one has to do is enter one’s personal details and requirements. Some better sites for online wills will manually check the forms for errors and misspellings before delivering it.
A will is a very important document. Hence it is to be created with utmost care and precision. One of the problems with Online wills is the unavailability of advice regarding this matter. They also provide no advice regarding taxes and are limited in scope with reference to assets up to a certain limit. One should take care as to hold prior witnessing of the will and its legality to avoid problems caused later. Unless a will is properly signed, dated and witnessed it will not be permissible in court. Online wills allow their maker the convenience of time. It can be made within the confines of one’s home or office. This is more attractive to professionals and businessmen who have lack of time.
Many have also questioned the legality of these online wills. The person drafting these wills may not have had legal training at all. Also, there might be errors in the translation of the wills online. Your assets maybe distributed unequally or not as per requirements. There is always room for error in such matters. Hence, it is advisable to get the will checked with a solicitor. Any will made should be specific and clear in its declarations.
A legal will ensures the proper safeguarding of one’s relatives after death. It makes sure that they do not face financial troubles. Most people avoid thinking about making a legal will in their good health. It is not so. One can make as many wills as possible during one’s lifetime. The binding rule remains that the previous will be declared legally null and void.
Steve Wood is the author of this article on Online Wills. Find more information about Online Will UK here
Making a Will (UK Law)
Making a Will (UK Law)
By Paul Finn
Thinking about our own death isn’t easy. Most of us feel a sense of discomfort when asked to consider what will happen after we die. For this reason many of us avoid making a Will. Others perceive the whole process to be too complicated, time consuming and costly. At the same time we know that making a Will is the responsible thing to do. It gives us peace of mind knowing that we have made provision for our loved ones and that our property and possessions (i.e. our Estate) will be dealt with in accordance with our wishes. It’s far from depressing to make a Will. On the contrary, it feels good to sort everything out for the future.
At the same time we know that making a Will is the responsible thing to do. It gives us peace of mind knowing that we have made provision for our loved ones and that our property and possessions (i.e. our Estate) will be dealt with in accordance with our wishes. It’s far from depressing to make a Will. On the contrary, it feels good to sort everything out for the future.
This is particularly important:
· If you have children under the age of 18 · If you have been married again · If you are living with a partner · If you are a single parent · If you need to help a disabled person · If you want to divide up your property · If you want to pass your home to someone other than your spouse · If you are involved in a family trust · If you own a business or substantial holding in a private company · If you jointly own a property and only one of the owners resides there.
What happens if I don’t make a Will?
If you die without making a Will, you are considered to be intestate. This means that your Estate will be divided amongst your family and close relatives according to rules laid down by Parliament and not how you might wish. This can cause problems for your family and sometimes hardship for those you love the most. When you die without making a Will then an Administrator may be appointed (usually a surviving spouse or nearest relative if they are prepared to undertake the task). They may not have been your choice and you may not have wished them to have such a burden. Another factor is that any part of your Estate which goes to children under the age of 18 will be put in a trust until they reach 18 or when they marry (if before the age of 18). This type of trust is regulated according to strict rules and the trustees have very limited powers of investment. Lastly, if you die intestate, you will have lost the opportunity to minimise the Inheritance Tax which is payable on your Estate. At present, Estates in excess of £300,000 (from April 2007) attract a rate of tax of 40%. This greatly decreases the value of your Estate to your beneficiaries.
To avoid the pitfalls in making a Will, first and foremost you need to consult a solicitor who will understand your needs. Once you have taken the decision to make a Will and have discussed your wishes with an experienced solicitor, you quickly realise that the process is not nearly as complicated or as costly as you may have imagined.
Will Glossary
A Useful Guide to Words Found in Your Will
ADMINISTRATOR – A person who has legally been appointed to settle your affairs, where there is no Executor. BENEFICIARY – An individual or company who stands to receive a gift in your Will.
CHATTELS – Personal possessions such as jewellery, furniture, car etc that are left in your Will.
ESTATE – The total of your possessions, whether chattels, house, money, investments, which you leave when you die.
INTESTATE – Under the Law you are ‘intestate’ if you die without making a Will.
PROBATE – The formal legal proof to ensure that a Will is valid.
RESIDUARY LEGACY – A gift of what is left of an Estate after all other costs have been deducted.
For more information visit our Wills & Probate webpage
Paul Finn
Director
Paul Finn Solicitors
Bude, Cornwall, UK
http://www.finnlaw.co.uk
Copyright Paul Finn Solicitors 2009
Make a Will Service
Make a Will Service
by Ron Bateman
Writing a will was traditionally an expensive business, but that was before will writing ceased to be the exclusive domain of solicitors and banks. The advent of will writing firms not only brought the price down, it introduced the added convenience of a home visit.
The good news is that the percentage of the population who will die with a will is steadily increasing – and that’s particularly good news for the family left behind, because they’ll be spared the problems of‘intestacy’ (that’s the legal term for dying without a will).
So what are the options available to those who haven’t yet got round to making their Last Will and Testament? If it’s an estate of low value, and your wishes are uncomplicated, you could buy a will form from the Post office and do it yourself. That would cost you under £10, but remember, you’re not getting any advice and the responsibility for things going wrong is yours alone. You can also make a will online. This involves answering a simple questionnaire, but again, this process should only be used if your needs and wishes are simple and straightforward.
By far the best solution is to have a face-to-face meeting with an experienced adviser who can talk you through all the pitfalls of inheritance tax, guardianship of young children, home ownership, executors, probate, deliberate exclusions and much more. You will probably need advice if you’re a business owner, or if you’re in a second marriage, or if you have a disabled beneficiary. A will writer in Northern Ireland came up with an ingenious solution to his client’s problem.
A widow of 84 had an estate worth four million pounds. Her sole beneficiary was her daughter, Helen, who was expecting to lose about one and a half million in tax. The will writer interviewed the daughter and learned that she was unmarried but had a partner, Billy, whom she’d been with for 25 years. “Do you trust him?” asked the will writer. “Trust him? Of course I trust him.
He’s the father of my four children.” After explaining his proposal to Helen and Billy, the will writer then had a meeting with Helen’s mother. “Before I take your instructions to make a will,” he said, “You have to understand that if you leave everything to Helen, she’ll have to pay a fortune to the government in tax. So I’m going to recommend that you marry Billy, because there’s no inheritance tax between spouses. You leave everything to Billy, tax-free. After you die, he marries Helen. How do you like the sound of that?” “Fine,” said the old lady. “I’ve always liked Billy.”
So when you do eventually get round to making a will, it pays to get expert advice. It could even be a pleasurable experience.
We’ll visit you, daytime, evening or weekends – at no extra cost. If you need Make a Will and Will Service you’re in the right place. Making a will with Sterling Wills Ltd is easy.
Is it Safe to Make a Will Online
Is it Safe to Make a Will Online?
By Alex Hershmann
The internet is an increasingly central part of our lives. What was, as recently as the late Nineties, largely the preserve of students, “geeks” and the more technologically inclined is now a huge commercial animal, where fortunes are made and lost. It is also somewhere that people are now willing to share more information than ever before.
The content of websites has changed hugely in recent years too. The first websites were largely informational. Alongside these you would find forums, where like-minded individuals could chew the fat without leaving the comfort of their own homes. Then, retailers woke up to the possibilities of e-commerce and started selling through online portals.
The problem was that users didn’t trust e-commerce websites. Online fraud has always been a big problem and for a number of years the newspapers were full of horror stories of consumers being ripped off either by scam websites or by criminals intercepting confidential data.
Now things are very different. Banks and credit card companies have teamed up with online retailers to provide protocols that cannot be easily hacked. Many smaller sites send users to trusted third-party sites in order to make payments. Trust in transactional websites is justifiably higher than ever before and this is being reflected in the volumes of money changing hands online.
There has been a big change in the way that we use the internet too. Social sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace encourage us to share more of our personal details than we would have ever considered ten years ago.
Ten years ago, it would have been impossible to make a will online and few people would have been willing to pass so many personal details to a website anyway. Now, under-thirties think nothing of pasting highly private photos on a website where thousands of people can potentially see them. Making a will online seems tame by comparison!
You may be asking, do I need to make a will? and the answer is… probably “yes”, if you want to know that your possessions will be divided according to your wishes in the event of your death. Complex wills should always be made with the help of a solicitor, especially if there is a significant amount of property to be divided. Simple wills, on the other hand, can easily be made using either an over-the-counter will-writing package or an online service.
Legally, in England and Wales, you do not need a solicitor present to write a will, as long as the document contains the key information and has been appropriately witnessed. So, if you process the document correctly and choose the right website, it is safe to write a will online.
The author runs UK-based wills website MakeAWillOnline.co.uk
For more about probate in England and Wales The Probate Service have a great online information resource.
Financial Planning For Seniors
Financial Planning For Seniors
by Mel Joelle
Financial planning for seniors can be a touchy subject for a lot of families. The perception is that once you start talking about a senior’s property and assets, it means they are closer to losing them. Actually, despite the fact that it can be reluctant task to have to deal with, financial planning is necessary to safeguard everything an elderly family member has worked to achieve in their life.
At GeriCareFinder, we can help you to protect your legacy by informing you about common pitfalls that affect the finances of seniors, and put you in touch with professionals all across the country who specialize in helping seniors protect their legacy.
Many people don’t realize that there are specific laws regarding the declaring of gifts and income from retirement accounts that need to be addressed when a senior files a tax return. At GeriCareFinder, we have partnered with professionals in every state who have proven that their service can help elderly family members take the advantages offered to them while they are still living to divest themselves in a manner consistent with their wishes.
The fact is, after someone passes on, if they have not adequately dealt with their financial assets, their surviving family members might not stand to inherit much after the IRS has taken their share. Inheritance tax is the highest tax percent on the law books, so leaving your legacy unprotected could leave your family unprotected.
In addition, tax attorneys who provide services to seniors know exactly how to prepare your returns while bearing in mind tax codes that govern gifting, veteran’s benefits, Social Security benefits, pension withdrawals, and other forms of monetary assets that affect your qualification for health care benefits.
Elder law and estate planning attorneys can also be researched and located using our site. These are highly qualified individuals who can assess and implement the steps you need to take to safeguard hard assists like your home, your boat, etc, and even manage your investment portfolios to maximize not just what you will pass on, but your ability to continue to afford the medical care and lifestyle you want while you are still living. They can optimize your earnings and your tax savings.
Lastly, they can advise you about making a will. Whether you make a living will or a last will and testament actually depends on your situation. Each one has different advantages so you need the services of a professional to determine which is best for your situation. Moreover, merely having a will can help to stem financial losses after you leave your family behind, because not having a clear, legal course of action will often leave surviving family members with added financial burdens associated with proving in a court of law that they are legally entitled to your assists.
This is not a position you want your descendants to be left with. If the court or lawyer fees are prohibitive for those you leave behind—or if it is simply too painful to deal with, your property and financial assists could end up being left to the government to do whatever they like with. In this case, it will often end up in a stranger’s possession after going through a lengthy process.
Do not leave financial planning as a burden for those you leave behind to deal with; visit GeriCareFinder to see how we can help you find a financial planning professional who is an expert in helping seniors protect their assets.
Click here to read the rest of Financial Planning For Seniors. If you enjoyed this article, you also might like our other stories about Senior Care
Getting A Good Online Will
Getting A Good Online Will
by Jo M Robinson
More than a third of men and women in the uk may be more than or drawing near to retirement age, which suggests many of them are going to be thinking about what is going to take place once they pass on..When individuals consider dying, in addition they speculate what is going to happen to their money in addition to property or home when they go. The only approach to avoid the concerns that bother a lot of people is usually to be sure to have a will, certainly when real estate or a large amount of capital is involved. Sometimes wills online may ease issues for anyone left behind.. When you leave a will after you pass away, this can be a legitimate log of just what you want to happen to any sort of property or money and belongings which are still left after you pass away..
If you’ve not thought of making a will but when you happen to be retired or close to retiring you should get one written. A will makes it easier for your spouse or children to gain access to the house or property and cash.The internet has changed the way folks do things like writing a will. If you’re computer literate it’s no problem finding a website that has will writing online. You should do your homework before you have your will drawn up on the internet. A number of websites will ask for information and offer to draft the will to suit your needs in return for a price, though other folks offer will templates for anyone to input your personal information into the will/ When the facts are entered it is possible to print off your information and get it witnessed and agreed upon.
You’ll be able to get a competent looking and legally correct will drawn up on the web nevertheless , you might want to use the help of legal specialists if you have a lot of money or property or home. Quite a few solicitors offer you will writing on their company web site, and you could write and finish the file on the internet or visit their office. Wills that contain your own signature, and also the signature of a solicitor usually are legitimate. If you have a will drafted and it is not signed by another individual as the witness, then there might be issues for family members to get your cash and property or home when you pass away.
You will find conflicts concerning getting do it yourself wills, and in case it is better to have a solicitor to pen, witness and sign your current will. Wills which are properly written by specialists and signed by their solicitor are thought to be legitimate and valid. Be mindful if you choose to generate a will online, if it’s not witnessed and also signed by someone else, it might be turned down as a lawful will.
FB Wills Direct is a company owned by Flint Bishop Solicitors. Discover all about wills online and making a will effectively and for very reasonable prices at our website www.fbwillsdirect.com
Incompetence and dishonesty of “cowboy” will writers
Incompetence and dishonesty of “cowboy” will writers
Results from a survey published by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), reveal the scale of the threat posed to the consumer from cowboys in the will writing market. The survey found that 75% of STEP members have encountered cases of “incompetence or dishonesty in the will writing market in the last 12 months”, and prompted STEP to call for better consumer protection.
Two thirds of respondents reported coming across hidden fees which were not outlined in the stated price for a will, and 63% had direct experience of cases where will writing companies had gone out of business and disappeared with their clients’ wills. Just over one third had encountered cases where incompetence had led to significant additional tax bills.
Chief Executive David Harvey said: “This research shows how widespread cowboy will writers have become and it is clear those who charge a fee for writing a will should now be regulated. They must have appropriate qualifications, and they must have proper indemnity insurance. The Scottish government has gone some way towards protecting consumers with the regulation of will writers but people will remain at risk until regulation is extended to include estate administrators across the UK.”
Examples of malpractice included a company which approached young mothers in shopping malls, telling them their children would be taken into care after they died if they failed to make a will. One consumer was charged £12,000 up-front for executor services only for their family to find the firm involved had gone out of business not long after, disappearing with their wills and money.
The Legal Services Board is currently undertaking a review of the threat posed to consumers in England & Wales by unprofessional will writers and is seeking evidence of consumer harm. The Scottish Parliament is going through the process of regulating non-lawyer will writers through the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.
STEP recently launched the STEP Certificate in Will Preparation, a qualification designed to enable will draftsmen to demonstrate their competence in all aspects of will preparation. STEP has been actively campaigning for the regulation of professional will writing and estate administration in Scotland.
Press release from http://www.step.org/news/press_releases/2011/revealed_incompetence_and_dis.aspx
How to Make a Will What Should a Will Contain
How to Make a Will – What Should a Will Contain?
By Neil Tufano
If there’s one thing everyone should know it is how to make a will. Amazingly, the majority of people haven’t made theirs, which can lead to uncertainty and worry for their survivors, along with the probability of a costly and drawn-out legal process.
Worst of all, if someone dies without making a will (‘intestate’), their wishes may not be fulfilled, their money and property may not go to those they want to have them, and the state may get much of the estate. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid this with a valid last will and testament.
How to make a will – where to go
There are several different ways to make a valid will. These include the following:
A solicitor or other professional trained in how to make a will DIY will-making kit One of the free online wills A paid-for solicitor-checked online will
Theoretically, you can make your own or use one of the DIY kits of will forms that are available from high street stores. For simple wills, these may be satisfactory. For anything more complex you should seek professional advice.
In this case, the ideal solution is a solicitor prepared or checked will, created either by visiting a legal professional or through a reputable online service. The cost of preparing a legal will ranges from virtually nothing, through to several hundred pounds if your affairs are very complex.
Differences in different parts of the UK
Local legal practices may have a bearing on the will-making process – another reason for seeking professional advice. In the UK, for instance, there are differences between making Welsh or English wills or making one in Scotland
Differences range from the availability of legal aid for will making, through to storage facilities available for the completed will (for instance, there are no court storage facilities for Scottish wills).
What should a will contain?
A properly written will requires the use of legal structures and terms and typically includes instructions that enable you to legally give away (or ‘gift’) things after your death:
Your estate Property House contents Cash and investments Businesses Residue (everything left after other gifts have been made and liabilities settled)
A DIY will template or a professional online service (they should have sample wills too) will include the standard terminology and format. A properly drafted will is a powerful document; even more reason for investing in the modest cost of making a will to ensure it’s prepared correctly.
Storing the completed will
Getting a will prepared is the main part of the will-making process. Once your will has been signed, you should store a copy with your papers, with your legal advisor, or with a reputable online funeral planning service such as The Well Planned Funeral. Additionally, make sure your will executor knows where your will is kept!
How much does a funeral cost? One thing’s certain; without a valid will the costs of administration and funeral planning can be much higher than they’d otherwise be. Because of this, knowing how to write a will and making the effort to get it prepared is vitally important.
With advice on making a will so readily available online there’s no excuse for putting it off any longer. You’ll find answers to all your questions online from the one discussed here to topics like ‘how to write a eulogy. Do what most people haven’t done and spare your loved ones from the cost and worry of your dying intestate. Learn how to make a will and make one today.
Do You Really Require The Services Of Wills Online?
Consider Writing A Will For Peace Of Mind And Good Financial Management
None of us actually want to think about our very own dying, that may be probably exactly why people who need to come up with a will generally do not get round to doing it. Wills online provides a simple response to dealing with what is going to happen with your belongings after you pass away. You can’t say everyone thinks that online wills are an ideal way of to make your own last choices apparent to those you leave when you’ve gone since not all wills are exactly the same.
You can streamline the whole process of making a will once there are a variety of wills to choose from. Wills online recognise that not necessarily sll circumstances are the same and also therefore you will see four different types of wills that you can look at. Among the issues with a lot of wills that are created online is that they’re not compiled by professionals. If you use wills online you will see that whichever will you actually select it will be compiled by a appropriate specialist in a specific niche.
Certainly , there will come a time when the majority of us need to take into account what is going to come to pass when we reach the conclusion of life. For those who have children then you’ll definitely prefer to make certain that they can get any cash, residence as well as things which you leave behind. For those who have a will, particularly one that has been authored by an expert, it can be much easier to your youngsters to receive the things that you want them to own.
Should you determine that it the appropriate time to think about making a will it may be beneficial to collect all the details you’ll need, as well as your account information, any money and also residence its possible you have, and also last but not least any special bequests you want to make out of your property. A specialist will writer is going to take the information that you supply and produce a will that, if signed, acts as a lawful document of your very last wishes.
No person really wants to think about their kids battling over money as well as real estate once they have died. Should you ensure that you get a will written with wills online make no mistake- that your hopes are going to be executed when you die. If you choose to leave everything to charitable organization which is completely up to you however , you must leave a finalized and written document of your respective wishes. You might not appreciate it, yet it’s best if you get on with making a will as soon as possible. No person knows if they’re about to die. You will feel a lot more happy when you are aware exactly where your personal property is going once the moment occurs.
Jo M Robinson
FB Wills Direct is a company owned by Flint Bishop Solicitors. Discover all about wills online and making a will effectively and for very reasonable prices at our website www.fbwillsdirect.com
Financial reasons to make a will
Do you need some encouragement to make your Will? I think this may amswer a few queries for you. it is from a highly trusted source – the UK government – so you can read it with confidence. Apart from helping to motivate you to make a Will it might actaully help you to think about your situation and how to start planning what your Will should contain.
Financial reasons to make a will
It’s easy to put off making a will. But if you die without one your assets may be distributed according to the law rather than your wishes. This could mean that your partner receives less, or that the money goes to family members who may not need it. Making a will – why it’s important
There are lots of good financial reasons for making a will:
* you can decide how your assets are shared out – if you don’t make a will, the law says who gets what * if you aren’t married or in a civil partnership (whether or not it’s a same sex relationship) your partner will not inherit automatically – you can make sure your partner is provided for * if you’re divorced or if your civil partnership has been dissolved you can decide whether to leave anything to an ex-partner who’s living with someone else * you can make sure you don’t pay more Inheritance Tax than necessary
* Other reasons to make a will from the Citizens Advice Bureau Opens new window
Who inherits if you don’t have a will?
If you don’t have a will there are rules for deciding who inherits your assets, depending on your personal circumstances. The following rules are for deaths on or after 1 February 2009 in England and Wales, the law differs if you die intestate (without a will) in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The rates that applied before that date are shown in brackets. If you’re married or in a civil partnership and there are no children
The husband, wife or civil partner won’t automatically get everything although they will receive:
* personal items, such as household articles and cars, but nothing used for business purposes * £450,000 (£200,000) free of tax – or the whole estate if it was less than £450,000 (£200,000) * half of the rest of the estate
The other half of the rest of the estate will be shared by the following:
* surviving parents * if there are no surviving parents, any brothers and sisters (who shared the same two parents as the deceased) will get a share (or their children if they died while the deceased was still alive) * if the deceased has none of the above, the husband, wife or registered civil partner will get everything
If you’re married or in a civil partnership and there were children
Your husband, wife or civil partner won’t automatically get everything, although they will receive:
* personal items, such as household articles and cars, but nothing used for business purposes * £250,000 (£125,000) free of tax – or the whole of the estate if it was less than £250,000 (£125,000) * a life interest in half of the rest of the estate (on his or her death this will pass to the children)
The rest of the estate will be shared by the children.
If you are partners but aren’t married or in a civil partnership
If you aren’t married or registered civil partners, you won’t automatically get a share of your partner’s estate if they die without making a will.
If they haven’t provided for you in some other way, your only option is to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. See the section below ‘If you feel you’ve not received reasonable financial provision’. If there is no surviving spouse/civil partner
The estate is distributed as follows:
* to surviving children in equal shares (or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive) * if there are no children, to parents (equally, if both alive) * if there are no surviving parents, to brothers and sisters (who shared the same two parents as the deceased), or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive * if there are no brothers or sisters then to half brothers or sisters (or to their children if they died while the deceased was still alive) * if none of the above then to grandparents (equally if more than one) * if there are no grandparents to aunts and uncles (or their children if they died while the deceased was still alive) * if none of the above, then to half uncles or aunts (or their children if they died while the deceased was still alive) * to the Crown if there are none of the above
It’ll take longer to sort out your affairs if you don’t have a will. This could mean extra distress for your relatives and dependants until they can draw money from your estate.
* Check who inherits if there’s no will – interactive tool Opens new window
* Scottish intestacy laws – learn more Opens new window
* More about intestacy law in Northern Ireland Opens new window
If you feel you’ve not received reasonable financial provision
If you feel that you have not received reasonable financial provision from the estate, you may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – applicable in England and Wales. To make a claim you must have a particular type of relationship with the deceased, such as child, spouse, civil partner, dependant or cohabitee.
Bear in mind that if you were living with the deceased as a partner but weren’t married or in a civil partnership, you’ll need to show that you’ve been ‘maintained either wholly or partly by the deceased’ – this can be difficult to prove if you’ve both contributed to your life together.
You need to make a claim within six months of the date of the Grant of Letters of Administration.
This is quite a complicated area and a claim may not succeed. It’s advisable to ask a solicitor’s advice. They would charge for this service. Inheritance Tax and your will If you leave everything to your husband, wife or civil partner
In this case there usually won’t be any Inheritance Tax to pay because a husband, wife or civil partner counts as an ‘exempt beneficiary’. But bear in mind that their estate will be worth more when they die, so more Inheritance Tax may have to be paid then.
However, if you are domiciled (have your permanent home) in the UK when you die but your spouse or civil partner isn’t you can only leave them £55,000 tax-free.
Other beneficiaries
You can leave up to £325,000 tax-free to anyone in your will, not just your spouse or civil partner (tax year 2010-2011). So you could, for example, give some of your estate to someone else or a family trust. Inheritance Tax is then payable at 40 per cent on any amount you leave above this. UK Charities
Inheritance Tax isn’t payable on any money or assets you leave to a registered UK charity – these transfers are exempt. Wills, trusts and financial planning
As well as making a will, you can use a family trust to pass on your assets in the way you want to. You can provide in your will for specific assets to pass into a trust or for a trust to start once the estate is finalised. You can also use a trust to look after assets you want to pass on to beneficiaries who can’t immediately manage their own affairs (either because of their age or a disability).
You can use different types of family trust depending on what you want to do and the circumstances. Setting up a trust is complicated and you’ll need to get specialist advice, so it’s normally only worthwhile if you’ve got a large estate. If you expect the trust to be liable to tax on income or gains you should inform HMRC Trusts as soon as the trust is set up. For most types of trust, there will be an immediate Inheritance Tax charge if the transfer takes you above the Inheritance Tax threshold. There will also be Inheritance Tax charges when assets leave the trust.
Further information on wills
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) offers advice on how to make a will. You can read their easy to follow guide which includes:
* how to make, store and update your will * how to change your will when your circumstances change * using a solicitor