Reasons why you should make a will now

1. Avoid Awkward Questions

The first thing you do when you make a will is put everyone else’s mind at rest and saves them asking all sorts of awkward questions. Of course you can always amend your will or do a new one as circumstances change. Divorce, Re-marriage, beneficiaries passing away before you do, heirlooms sold or lost. Close family, charities all may want to know what they may receive from your will and telling them can put their mind at rest. You may have a pet you want someone to look after or you may want to ensure a specific gift or asset is passed on or not sold even after your death. Making a will and letting those you thoink should know be aware of the fact is always useful.

Who can help you make a will- well there are Solicitors, Banks, Will drafters who will come to you at home and even On-Line Will facilities. Costs will of course vary whether it is a single will or joint will or mirror will with your partner. Whether the will is a complex one or easy one and whether there are legal and tax implications to consider. Whatever the case making a will can avoid awkward questions later.

2.Peace of mind – Making sure your wishes will be carried out

By appointing executors you know or trust to administer your wishes, you will have some peace of mind that your affairs will be carried out correctly. If you don’t make a will then the state may be appointed to decide and that may not be how you wanted things to happen.

If you appoint an executor it is usally wise to advise the peroon accordingly- maybe even give them a copy of the will you have made or at least tell them where the will is stored for safe keeping.

An executor should hopefully be the same age or at least not someone very old and not likely to outlive you. Certainly someone you trust who can be relied upon to follow your wishes.

Wills and estates can be complicated of course and people drift apart or move away so you might also want to consider appointing a solicitor that is their firm as joint executors to ensure that there will be someone around to handle your wishes.

3. Your loved ones receive their entitlement

When you draft your will you will have the opportunity to clearly state who you want to benefit from your estate and what they should get. By making a will you ensure the executors distribute your assets as you want. You may need to review your will every now and then to make sure it is still up to date and of course removes any doubt as to your wishes and prevent unnecessary argument.

Divorced :- a divorce is often painful and although can be agreed amicably making a will ensures that the people you want to benefit from your estate do so.

Re-marriage – today a lot of people remarry and take care of the other partners children – however, in any will you must specify their names as adopted or children with or without your name are not assumed to be "your natural" children and will not inherit any part of your estate unless you name them.

4. Appoint guardians to look after your infant children

If you have small children it’s always wise to make some provision for their upbringing. Hopefully you have close family you have been able to discuss this with but just to make sure state in your will who is to look after your children until they are older enough to take care of themselves. It's always a worry when you have small children to think “who will take care of them if we both dies at the same time?” What happens then? What will happen to our estate. Who will get the money? Who will ensure the children are financially looked after?

There certainly are lots of questions that need to be asked and considered. None have to be unresolved and solicitors are used to handling such questions. There are also precedents in law that may help guide what you do as far as handling the estate but the appointment of a guardian is best left to you to think who would and could look after outr children just as we would have done?

5. Avoid disputes amongst family and friends

You might not think you care but we know most people do not want people arguing over who gets what. It is particularly painful for those who are left to deal with issues like this so by making your wishes totally clear it will help them peacefully sort out matters.

As you get older and maybe accumulate more wealth or possessions, family and close friends may well have an expectation that certain items were always meant to go to them.

You may wish to give charitable contributions out of your estate, and if not written in your Will then those charities are never likely to benefit from your generosity.

Making a will will solve some of those issues. You don’t need to tell them what you have done – infact you may not want to tell them for good reason – so it is good practice to make sure your wishes are fully covered in your will so that the executors can ensure they are carried out to the letter and hopefully there will be no argument over who gets what!

6. Save money on Inheritance Tax

If after all debts are paid and items valued or sold if the final amount is in excess of £312,00 at the moment although this may always be subject to change by the government, then currently your executors may have to pay upto 40% inheritance tax to the state. However there are certain things you do to reduce this liability so if you think your estate might be liable to inheritance taxation seek help and advice – solicitors, accountants and tax specialists will be pleased to advise at a cost of course but usually one that is justified by the tax saved.. The Inheritance Tax threshold (or ‘nil rate band’) is the amount up to which an estate will have no Inheritance Tax to pay. If the estate – including any assets held in trust and gifts made within seven years of death – is more than the threshold, Inheritance Tax will be due at 40 per cent on the amount over the nil rate band

7. Include your funeral wishes and directions

When you make a will you can stipulate whether you want to be buried, cremated, scattered, dropped into the ocean, or buried at a favourite place if it is allowed or even made available for medical research. Your instructions will be followed and of course it helps those left to know exactly what you wanted.

The first thing that you have to include in your funeral planning is to plan for your funeral services and make necessary arrangements. You should discuss the mode of payment according to your convenience. Then select the plan which you think would suit your requirements. Also ensure that there are no hidden extra charges charged later on.

You will feel relaxed once your funeral planning is done as sometimes your wishes remained unfulfilled at times because people do not really know about them. Even if you have written out your wishes somewhere it is not certain that it would be fulfilled but your funeral planning would surely be of help in fulfilling your wishes and this will also satisfy your soul. You can give your funeral a traditional look or you can even choose to donate your body. Funeral planning is probably no one would like to do but if done it can be very beneficial.

8. Ease the pain of those left behind

Sometimes just making a will helps those left behind grieve properly and feel they have done what you wanted. We have all been to funerals that seem rushed or poorly planned, often in grief and without a clear indication of what is needed it is difficult to concentrate on all the many things that may need to be done.

Planning for future is always a good and exciting thing but it is mainly for the good things. However there are things that you forget or do not want to plan. One among them is funeral. You may have never thought about planning in advance for your funeral but thinking about it can ensure that you will have peace of mind in the future. One should always remember that sorrows always bring with them the load of emotions and financial liabilities. But planning it in advance will be advantageous as your loved ones do not have to take such decisions when they are already upset loosing you.