Having a will is something a lot of people do not think about until later in life. However, it is something everyone should think about to prepare for the future. Within this section, guidance will be provided surrounding writing a will, what it may include. At this time Lestons do not offer a will writing service and contract this out to a third party.
Defining key terms
There can be some complicated terms when talking in legal terms so please refer to the list below:
- Cohabiting partners – living with your partner or another half without being married.
- Assets – an asset maybe things like money left in banks, paying any bills and what is left according to the will.
- Will – a legal document that expresses a person’s wishes as to how their property is to be distributed after their death.
- Intestate – a person that dies without a will is an intestate person.
- Intestacy rules – these are the rules that are followed to divide estate when a person dies intestate.
When writing a will, you must make sure it is valid. You must be over 18 and mental capacity. The Wills Act 1837 lays out the validity for a will, if you do not comply with these rules your will shall be invalid.
The will must be in writing and signed by you with two other witnesses present who must also sign the will (in other words, you all have to sign the will and watch each other do it). The witnesses present must also have sound mental capacity. An important point to make here is that if you are going to leave property to a spouse or civil partner in your will, they cannot be your witness. If they are then that part of the will can be invalid.
There is a rare exception to this rule, those in the Royal Navy can make a will verbally instead of writing it down. However, it is always best to have it in writing for peace of mind.
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