FAQS

SOME OF OUR MOST

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is A Will?

A Will is a legal document stating what you would like to happen to your estate. Your estate consists of your house (less any outstanding mortgage or other loans secured on it), cash, savings, vehicles, household and personal effects, proceeds from any life assurance policies and pensions where there isn’t a named beneficiary or the plans are not written in trust LESS any outstanding loans, credit card balances, household bills, funeral expenses, etc.

Can I Make Changes to My Will?

It’s very easy to forget to amend or review your Will but if you don’t keep it up to date the provisions in your Will may not reflect your intentions.

What is a codicil?

A codicil is a supplemental document to a Will which makes minor alterations but leaves the rest of the Will intact.

What Can I Do With My Will?

Some people choose to keep their Will as simple as possible and so gift all their estate (as one lump – called the “residue of my estate”) rather than try to break it down into individual amounts or items.

Can I make provision for my children (and future children)?

Yes. ‘children’, by legal definition, are your natural children, including illegitimate, plus any you have legally adopted. Stepchildren are not included in this definition so, if you wish them to be provided for, they need to be mentioned by name. If you have children at the moment and wish us to include others not yet born then we can include the wording “and any other children of mine not yet born”. If you don’t have any children at present but wish to include the possibility then again we can do that, however, it is wise to make further provision in case at the time of your death you don’t have any children.

Does marriage, divorce or a civil partnership affect my Will?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, your Will is cancelled automatically if you marry or enter into a civil partnership after you have signed it unless the Will contained a sentence stating otherwise, for example if it had been drawn up just prior to you getting married. If you divorce or your civil partnership in annulled after signing your Will any gifts in favour of your wife, husband or partner will be cancelled (unless the Will states otherwise) and therefore your Will would be read as if they had already died. It is essential that you consider writing a new Will if there are major changes to your circumstances.

What happens if I leave someone out of my Will?

If you have not properly provided for any of your dependants who are unable to maintain themselves, or if you have not been fair to your wife, husband or civil partner (or even an ex-wife or ex-husband who has not remarried), the Court can alter your Will. Your reasons for not having provided for someone should be given in a separate letter, which can be referred to in your Will. The Court will consider these reasons but they will not bind them.

Do I need to change my Will if I have a Nil rate band or discretionary trust in my Will so that my children are protected?

The Government have recently changed the rules on Inheritance Tax and although not all of the terms have been finalised there is still much debate on this subject..

By introducing something called the “family home allowance” couples from 2018 onwards may benefit from increased tax allowances if their property is being inherited by direct descendants. A direct descendant is classed as the following:

Children

Stepchildren

Adopted or foster children

Grandchildren

A Discretionary Trust passes the property into a trust so in theory it may not benefit from the “family home allowance”. Details are yet to be announced by the government. By the time this “family home allowance” comes into force it will be worth an additional £175,000 per person. This will be added to the existing Nil Rate Band tax allowance of £325,000 per person. So each couple’s allowance will be £500,000 each – or £1m per household.

With inheritance tax currently at 40% of everything over the Nil Rate Band, this means that you could pay an additional £140,000 in tax if you still have a Discretionary Trust after 2020 and the rules do not allow for NRB Trusts to hold assets and still be able to claim full allowance. Our advice at the moment is to proceed with NRB trusts or FLITS as the executors and trustees have discretion at a later date to amend this if the new legislation means they would be exempt from claiming the higher ‘Family Home allowance ‘. It is also possible under a deed or instrument of variation to make changes to a Will in the future in line with new changes if the Testator was unable to amend their Will during their lifetime.

How do I ensure my children receive the same protection as a Discretionary Trust?

There are still many options available to you if you are worried about the possibility of your spouse or partner remarrying after your death and so disallowing any inheritance you plan for your own children.

There are a number of Trusts available through your Will that allow your family to benefit from the Family Home Allowance whilst still protecting your children from being disinherited.

These include:

Interest in possession (IIP) trusts

Disabled persons trust and IIP

Bereaved minor’s trust

Age 18 to 25 trusts

What should I do now to avoid missing out on the Family Home Allowance?

Most of our Wills state that the executors or Trustees have the power to over-ride any NRB trust if at the time of death this would cause any financial loss. And of course the Family Home Allowance only applies on second death not first so it may well be by the time the government have sorted out all the terms and conditions they will have allowed for NRB planning already in force in somebody’s Will. Even later conditions made in a Will can always be changed by a deed of variation if the trustees and beneficiaries all agree.

The best thing to do now is to book a review of your Will with one of our team to guide you through the process, and again make use of the Will for Life Scheme so that you don’t have to pay for new Wills all over again at a later date.

What are Executors?

One very important part of your Will is the naming of who you would like to act as your executor. Your executor is the person who will administer your Will after your death. They can be anyone you choose, for example:

Your husband, wife or partner

Your son or daughter (if over 18 at the time of your death)

Your brother or sister

A close friend

A beneficiary in your Will

(Professional) Society of Will Writers

As a courtesy, it is always best to ask the person whom you wish to appoint whether they are willing to act. The duties of an executor are varied and can be very time consuming. As a result, people chosen to be executors, when called upon to act, often appoint a professional to help.

What are Trustees?

Trustees are the people appointed in your Will to look after your property until for example, a child is old enough to inherit or where there is a life interest.

What’s the best way to provide for my disabled child?

Although not exclusively, a Discretionary Trust is often used by families who have a relative with a learning disability. Discretionary trusts are a way of putting in place financial arrangements to help support that relative. These trusts are particularly suitable for disabled people.

A Discretionary Trust can also provide a way of owning property. Sometimes families decide that in the long-term they would like to be able to set up arrangements that allow their relative to continue to live at home with the necessary support.

Can anyone witness me signing my Will?

No. They must not be a beneficiary in your Will nor married to a beneficiary. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland they must be over 18 years of age, of sound mind and not blind. You will need two witnesses who must both be present when you sign and date your Will.

They don’t need to see the contents of your Will, only you signing it. In Scotland they must be over 16 years of age, of sound mind and not blind. You will only need one witness who must see you sign and date your Will. They don’t need to see the contents of your Will, only you signing it.

What should I do with my Will after I have signed it?

You should leave it in a safe place and ensure your executors and/or family know where it is being kept. Your Executors will need the original Will to apply for probate, not a copy.

CJH offer a comprehensive service, which includes looking after your Will in our document storage facility. This saves your family distress from not being able to find your Will when you die because if it can’t be found it will be presumed not to exist.

You can also have a Digital Vault where scanned copies of all your documents may be kept and this enable you to store certain information that may be pertinent and most useful to your Executors when they come to perform their duties. We are aware that most people wish to leave their executors with sufficient information with regard to their assets and liabilities to enable them to apply for probate as quickly and as easily as possible. Having all relevant information in a Digital Vault can achieve this.

What should I do if I have on-line bank accounts or others investments?

You should ensure that a full list of your assets are stored somewhere safe so that in the event you can not tell them in person your appointed officers will know how to manage your affairs or access your accounts when required to do so.

Nowadays this could be money kept on accounts such as Pay Pall, Internet Banking, even Gambling accounts are very possible and without this information held nobody can access it later.

A Digital Vault is an ideal way to store such information see details above.. This will save your family further distress from not being able to find your assets when you die – because again if they can’t be found they will be presumed not to exist.