5 Things to include in your Will!

I'm going to run through just five things that you need to include in your Will. It's really useful if you are thinking of having a Will drafted.

1.      Who are your beneficiaries?

The first thing that you need to think about is who is going to benefit from the Will? Who are going to be your beneficiaries? The easiest example to give is a married couple with adult children. They might say, "Well, if one of us dies, then I know I'm going to leave everything to the survivor. If something happens to the two of us we’re going to leave everything to the children." This is a really common scenario.

2.      Who will be my Executors?

The second thing to think about is who are going to be your executors? The executors are the people that have that legal authority to look after your estate, do what it says in your Wills, pay the liabilities, and hand whatever the balance is out to the beneficiaries. So, who are they going to be? In the example I've just given of a married couple with children, you might say, well, we're going to appoint each other as executors, but if something's happened to the two of us, then our children will be our executors.

3.      Who will be guardians for your children?

If you have children under 18, one of the most important reasons to have a Will drafted is to appoint legal guardians for those children.  If something happens to yourself and your partner, who is going to look after your children for you? You need to think about that.

4.      Do I want to be buried or cremated?

The forth thing to think about is whether you want to put funeral wishes in your Will? Do you want to state that whether you want to be buried or cremated, for example? You don't need to go into too much detail, but it's definitely worth thinking about and deciding whether you want it in your Will for clarity.

5.      What happens if we all die?!

The fifth main thing to think about when you're having a Will drafted, and this is particularly important for young families, is the worst-case scenario. Remember, this is a worst-case scenario. What happens if something happens to all of you at the same time? I know it’s horrible to think about but it’s something you need to cover. 

Hopefully, if you've been thinking about getting a Will drafted, the above will help in having the discussion with your partner or spouse to make those all-important decisions.

If you’d like to book an appointment to get your Wills drafted, please email me at [email protected] and I look forward to hearing from you.