Some people consider the process of making a will to be a bit of a morbid experience. No one likes to think about death, but as it is a natural part of life and one which none of us can avoid, wouldn’t it make sense to get the practical and financial side of things arranged so that you remove this stress for your family after you’ve passed? Making a will provides you with much more than just peace of mind – here are a few reasons why you absolutely need a will, and how we can help if you haven’t got one at present.
Protect your family
Families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes but unfortunately not all these relationships are considered the same in the eye of the law, and therefore you should want to protect your family by providing for them after you die. If you are in a partnership but not married, you might choose to provide for your partner, and vice versa. This legal document allows you to stipulate who you want to benefit from your will, but remember to update it as your family circumstances change (such as the birth of your children, grandchildren or in the event of a divorce).
Protect your assets
Money, property and belongings are the main assets you’ll want to leave to your loved ones, but without a will in place specifying how each of these items is to be distributed, it could result in increased stress, time-consuming back and forth between solicitors and family members, and even serious disagreements between family members after you’ve gone. Remove the possibility of this by stating very clearly how you want your assets to be divided and to who, otherwise you will have no say in how things are divided out. You may also wish to leave a donation to a preferred charity – in this case, you should also specify which charity and how much.
Identify your executor
A will is one element of the legal documentation you should have in place before you die, and you should also appoint an executor at the same time. This is a person, or persons, whom you nominate to carry out the instructions specified by you in your will. They will be in charge of organising your estate and assets and making sure everything is divided up as you have requested.
Using a solicitor to draw up your will
A will doesn’t have to be a complicated document – how complex it is depends on your individual circumstances. For example, you might have been married more than once and have children from more than one union who you wish to provide for, you might own properties overseas or you might have questions about inheritance tax if you have a large estate with a high value attached to it.
In these cases, it would be advisable that you use the services of a solicitor to draw up your will so that it can be executed without dispute, exactly the way you want it to be and so that you can ask any questions to a qualified solicitor who can explain any and all implications. Our office is also able to keep all original wills for safe-keeping, so you know it is held in a secure location.
Costs for drawing up a will depend on the complexity of each individual case, but for a competitive quote no matter what your circumstances are contact McPartland & Sons Solictors in Lurgan or Lisburn for a chat with a member of our friendly team.