Welcome to the Wills, Trusts and Probate team’s Wills pages. I’m Rod, the head of the team. I specialised in advising on Wills when I qualified as a solicitor in 1998 and have been advising clients in, and around, N1 since I joined Bolt Burdon in 2001.
Why should you make a Will?
1. A valid and professionally drafted Will is the only certain way to ensure that your wishes are carried out when you die.
2. You can name the people you trust to carry out your wishes in your Will, called ‘Executors’. The partners at Bolt Burdon are always happy to act as Executors at no additional fee.
3. You can name Guardians in your Will, who will look after your children if you die before they reach 18.
4. You can ensure that your children, or other beneficiaries, do not inherit too early by adding a ‘vesting age’ in your Will. For example, ‘I give the sum of £100,000 to my son on reaching 21 years’.
5. Inheritance tax can be saved with expert advice and a carefully drafted Will.
6. You can, with Trusts in your Will, ring-fence your hard earned assets for your children from potential predators like divorce solicitors and the trustee in bankruptcy as well help reduce the liability for care fees.
7. You may have views about the type of funeral you would like or the disposal of your body, whether by burial or cremation. Your Will is a very good place to set down your instructions. A side letter, which will be stored with your Will, can be used to add further detail.
Of course, without a Will you will be relying on laws which date back to 1925 which means that, for example, your husband, wife, registered civil partner or partner will not necessarily inherit all of your assets. They may even have to make a claim against your estate!
Regular review of your Will
Your Will should be reviewed at least every 5 years and more regularly if there is a significant change to your finances, an inheritance, or your relationship, you marry, register your civil partnership or divorce.
Please note that marriage will entirely revoke your Will and divorce will revoke all the clauses in your Will which refer to your ex-husband, ex-wife or ex-registered civil partner.
Our service
A face to face meeting ensures that you get the very best advice. We need to understand what you are aiming to achieve in your Will and why. We have a simple Will facts form which helps you collect together all the information which we need to advise you on your Will. We ask that you complete and return this to us before we meet so that we can prepare for the meeting. Our comprehensive Will service includes a calculation of your potential inheritance tax bill and the ways to reduce it! We can also advise of associated issues like Living Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney. We have a new initiative which we call our Peace of Mind solution which covers a Will, Lasting Power of Attorney (Property & Finance) and much more and which has been very well received by existing and new clients alike.
When your Will is ready to be signed we can act as witnesses. We can also store your Will in our on-site fireproof facility and send you hard and soft copies for your records.
Making a valid professionally drafted Will is essential and the Bolt Burdon Wills, Trust and Probate team, who are all members of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners is here to ensure that’s exactly what you get.
What to do now?
Please call or email me to discuss the next step