Wills
Wills
A Will is a legal document that ensures your assets are passed on to the right people when you die.
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Your Will cannot manage all your wishes and family plans so it is important to understand what it legally covers.
Lexikin have created various guides and articles around the subject of your Will, giving you a fantastic resource to use when creating or uploading a Will to your personal account.
What is a Will?
We cover this question at length across all of our guides, but a Will lets you decide how your assets are handled after you pass away and can include provision for your finances, property and other possessions. You can for instance decide to pass certain items to particular individuals, for example, pieces of jewellery or other treasured items.
Lack of a Will can delay the division of your Estate after death as an Executor has to be appointed by the court and it can take a good deal of time before everything is sorted out. A Will is particularly important if you have a partner but are not married or don’t have a civil partnership – the laws of intestacy are not very sympathetic to these kinds of life situations.
Making a Will not only allows you to settle where and who your assets go to but also gives you the opportunity to choose someone you trust to administer your Estate in accordance with your wishes.
What can’t be passed on in a Will
While most of your property and finances can be apportioned to various recipients in your will there are some things that cannot. These include:
Joint bank accounts which will go to the surviving account holder in the event of your death.
Life insurance policies that stipulate a particular beneficiary.
Property that is not solely held but is part of a joint tenancy.
Any death in service benefits or pension benefits.
If you have money held in a trust and are the beneficiary, you may or may not be able to include this in your Will depending on the terms of the trust. And, of course, you cannot include any assets that are not owned by you in the first place. You can include stipulations in your Will, for example, putting assets in trust for a young dependent until they are certain age or for a person who has mental health problems so that their inheritance is handled properly.
If you are not sure whether the assets you hold fall into anyone of the above categories, then it is best to get the right legal advice so there is no confusion in the event of your death.
How to make a Will
The easiest solution here is to Sign Up with Lexikin and manage your assets and wishes on our unique platform. This makes creating or editing your Will much easier. You should only consider making a Will yourself if the disposal of your assets is straightforward. If your situation is fairly simple, then you can use one of our online will writing services that are available for a nominal price.
For more complicated Estates, the general advice is that you should seek the services of a qualified Probate solicitor to help you draw up a Will so that there is no confusion or doubt when you finally pass away, this can be done with one of our professional service providers directly through your account on Lexikin. After all, if there are mistakes or errors on the Will, you will not be around to clarify matters.
A solicitor will make sure that the document is drawn up according to the law and will ensure that you include all your assets. They will also be able to take into account what happens if a particular beneficiary dies before you do. It also makes it easier if, at a later date, you want to change the conditions of your Will with a Codicil.
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Guides
Wills
A Will is a legal document that ensures your assets are passed on to the right people when you die.
MoreYour Will cannot manage all your wishes and family plans so it is important to understand what it legally covers.
Lexikin have created various guides and articles around the subject of your Will, giving you a fantastic resource to use when creating or uploading a Will to your personal account.
What is a Will?
We cover this question at length across all of our guides, but a Will lets you decide how your assets are handled after you pass away and can include provision for your finances, property and other possessions. You can for instance decide to pass certain items to particular individuals, for example, pieces of jewellery or other treasured items.
Lack of a Will can delay the division of your Estate after death as an Executor has to be appointed by the court and it can take a good deal of time before everything is sorted out. A Will is particularly important if you have a partner but are not married or don’t have a civil partnership – the laws of intestacy are not very sympathetic to these kinds of life situations.
Making a Will not only allows you to settle where and who your assets go to but also gives you the opportunity to choose someone you trust to administer your Estate in accordance with your wishes.
What can’t be passed on in a Will
While most of your property and finances can be apportioned to various recipients in your will there are some things that cannot. These include:
- Joint bank accounts which will go to the surviving account holder in the event of your death.
- Life insurance policies that stipulate a particular beneficiary.
- Property that is not solely held but is part of a joint tenancy.
- Any death in service benefits or pension benefits.
If you have money held in a trust and are the beneficiary, you may or may not be able to include this in your Will depending on the terms of the trust. And, of course, you cannot include any assets that are not owned by you in the first place. You can include stipulations in your Will, for example, putting assets in trust for a young dependent until they are certain age or for a person who has mental health problems so that their inheritance is handled properly.
If you are not sure whether the assets you hold fall into anyone of the above categories, then it is best to get the right legal advice so there is no confusion in the event of your death.
How to make a Will
The easiest solution here is to Sign Up with Lexikin and manage your assets and wishes on our unique platform. This makes creating or editing your Will much easier. You should only consider making a Will yourself if the disposal of your assets is straightforward. If your situation is fairly simple, then you can use one of our online will writing services that are available for a nominal price.
For more complicated Estates, the general advice is that you should seek the services of a qualified Probate solicitor to help you draw up a Will so that there is no confusion or doubt when you finally pass away, this can be done with one of our professional service providers directly through your account on Lexikin. After all, if there are mistakes or errors on the Will, you will not be around to clarify matters.
A solicitor will make sure that the document is drawn up according to the law and will ensure that you include all your assets. They will also be able to take into account what happens if a particular beneficiary dies before you do. It also makes it easier if, at a later date, you want to change the conditions of your Will with a Codicil.
