Useful Information

Your Will is a crucially important document to ensure that your testamentary intentions are correctly carried out, efficiently and in accordance with your wishes. It is also essential to ensure that your Will provides the basis for the legal and administrative process of probate to be as convenient and straightforward as possible. The preparation of your Will is an extremely worthwhile investment of your time and energy. It avoids the risk of leaving your family and loved ones with uncertainty, delays, stress and unnecessary expense at the very time they could most do without those problems. Some of the points below may help your to organise your Will.

Case History

We will need to know if you have any (UK and/ or other) wills in place which remain valid. If they are to be superseded, although we will not necessarily need to see copies, it will be helpful for us to understand the nature of the changes you seek to make and reasons why.

Health

Without wishing to appear indelicate, we will need to be satisfied that your health and condition are such that there are no aspects (memory / mental health issues) which could affect your ability legally to make a valid will. In the extremely rare cases where either you or we feel that there are doubts, a medical opinion can be sought, in the interests of certainty.

Identification Details

We will need to include full identification details, including: full name and address including postcode; marital status; details of previous marriages; details (names, addresses and ages) of children from current and previous marriages.

Assets

In order for us to be sure we are providing the best advice possible, we need to ask you about the nature and approximate value of your assets, wherever they are situated. We will also need an approximate figure for any mortgages or other loans which are outstanding and details of any life assurance cover you may have.

Inheritance / Succession Tax Saving

Once we have information regarding the nature and structure of your estate, we can consider with you whether any of the will- based inheritance/ succession tax saving options we offer would be beneficial to you.

Business Assets

Please let us know at the outset if you have any business assets, as these may be an integral part of your estate planning.

Testator

This is the legal expression for you, the person English-Wills signing signing the will.

Anticipated Marriage

You will automatically invalidate your will if you get married after you have written it. However, if you are planning to marry shortly after making your will, we can insert a clause in the will to ensure it continues to be valid, notwithstanding the marriage.

Trustees and Executors

Executors administer the estate while trustees manage the ongoing business. For convenience, the executors and the trustees are usually the same people.
Their duties normally include obtaining a UK Grant of Probate, which is usually required before your assets can be distributed to your beneficiaries. The role of executor carries with it a considerable responsibility- for example, they can be held personally liable for any debts or taxes that are not fully paid before the distribution of the estate. Also, they can be liable for assets distributed incorrectly, if they cannot be recovered.
You can appoint anyone who is over the age of 18 to work with them. We need a minimum of two people and a maximum of four.
We work with Kings Court Trust Corporation in Bath ( www.trustcorporation.com ) and can provide full details, if you feel you need a professional executor to administer your estate. They would count as one executor / trustee.
Following a bereavement, English Wills can co-ordinate the probate process for you, to minimise delays and inconvenience.
If you wish to create a Discretionary Will Trust (where the surviving spouse is a potential beneficiary) in order for the trust to retain its discretionary status, a spouse nominated as a trustee can only have a minority say in the proceedings.
Please check with all your nominees that they feel able to and are prepared to take on the responsibility. It is also important to consider their potential age.