Planning a Will
Planning a Will can be a rather intimidating task. When writing one, you will have to carefully consider everything that is important to you and what you are worth. Most importantly, it can make you face some unpleasant inevitabilities to come. In fact, over half of the adults in the U.S.A. and the U.K. have not written any form of Will. So if you have not written your Will so far, do not worry, your case is quite common. However, you will have to start at some point out of your own initiative because no-one will remind you.
If you want to make sure your loved ones will be comfortable and you are financially stable, it is essential you plan a Will. If you do not, your property could revert to the state if you have loved ones who are not direct family. This depends on where you live. Similarly, it is possible that without a Will, a partner who you are not married to may not receive anything. Generally, without a Will, your property is split between your spouse and your close relatives. However, this can still be a problem, as your close relatives may be left bickering over the details of the Will.
So, what are some things to keep in mind when setting up a Will? We want to briefly list the most important factors to keep an eye on when planning your Will.
Typical assets for planning your Will
There are many different kinds of assets and sources of income you should keep in mind when deciding how to divide your property. This could be a house, your savings in a bank or bond or stock, insurance policies, pension funds, vehicles, jewelry, furniture, etc.
Legality of your Will
First of all, and most importantly, make sure your Will is legal. It would be a crying shame if you go through all the hassle of planning your Will, only to have it be invalid when the time comes. The laws that control the legality of a will can vary state by state and country by country, so find out what your local laws say. There are some short guidelines we can offer you, however.
Get the general form of a Will down. You should name all of the individuals who you want your assets to be passed on to. You should name the guardian of your children, if they are not yet of age. Include all your assets and how they should be treated. Mention what your intentions are if one of your beneficiaries dies before you do. Finally, include the executor of your will and include an alternate. The executor must be 18 or older and must also be of sound mind.
You must then sign the Will yourself of your own free will before two adults who will not benefit from the Will, who will then sign it themselves. Following this, you will then have to write a statement that this is your last will and testament and add the date.
You can find legal Will form templates online to help you with the process. You are not required to console any sort of attorney as long as all the requirements are fulfilled, but it would be best if you did do so.
How your marriage affect the planning of your Will
As we stated earlier, your marital status with your partner is of utmost importance when it comes to planning a Will. There are several problems that can arise if you do not take your current marital status into account. For one, if you have married later in life but have children from previous relationships who you want to dedicate your property to, your Will must reflect this. Also, if you have written another Will during your marriage but it is considered invalid, courts will fall back on previous Wills. You can write your Will before marriage and name the individual you intend to marry in the document.
After divorce, your Will remains valid until you write a new one. You could be apart for years, but the document will still hold legal water.
An unmarried partner may not receive anything if you have not written a Will including them. Similarly, you must mention stepchildren in a Will if you want them to have a portion of your property. Neither are legally directly linked to you in the eyes of the government, you must be explicit with your intentions.
Someone could challenge your Will
This is another factor that highly depends on where you live. Many countries in Europe allow people to overrule your decisions if they feel they have been hard done by. If an individual feels they have received too little by your Will, they could be well within their legal right to contend your decisions. Of course, this individual is usually a close relative or a spouse. This could also, however, be an individual who has depended on you financially for many years. If you have made a promise to someone which has not been fulfilled by the Will, they could also contend it. Most, apart from your spouse, will have to demonstrate that they are suffering financially and do need some help to viably contend the Will.
The privacy of your Will
While your Will shall remain private during your life after you pass it tends to be a very different story. In order for people to know who will receive what when executing your Will, the information will, of course, be made public. You should thus be careful what you write in your Will when planning it. It could divulge uncomfortable information intended for one of your beneficiaries after you pass. It would be best to write this information in a private letter. This option will not necessarily be legally binding either, though, which is something to keep in mind.
Inheritance tax
After your passing, the state could take up to your 40% of your property. You may have to keep this in mind when deciding how to divide up your estate. Fortunately for you, this only applies to a very small number of people. In the U.K., only 4% to 5% of estates will pay inheritance tax and less than 1% of estates in the U.S.A. This is because the size of the estates which will have to pay this kind of fee is very large. In the U.S.A., estates that will have to pay this tax tend to be valued in the millions.
Donating to charity
It is well known that you can have some tax exemptions when donating to charities during your life. What is less well known is that you can achieve the same result by donating via your Will. If you must pay inheritance tax, you can reduce it by some margin by paying out to a charity.
Of course, you can still make a donation to charity if your intention is not to gain tax exemptions. You should mention the charity, where they are located, their charity number. Then include how much you are willing to donate to them.
