Wills & Estates
Wills
Recording who inherits, who administers the estate and who cares for children.
A valid will names executors, sets out gifts and residue, and can appoint guardians for minor children. It also reduces the scope for disagreement at a point when families are least able to resolve it.
Marriage, divorce, new children, property purchases and business changes are all reasons to review an existing will rather than assume it still reflects your intentions.
Things worth considering
- Marriage generally revokes an earlier will
- Jointly owned property may pass outside the will entirely
- Executors should be told they have been appointed
In plain English
Making or updating a will in England and Wales
A will is the document that says who inherits your estate, who administers it and, where you have children under 18, who you would like to look after them. To be valid in England and Wales it must be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two people who are present when you sign and who are not beneficiaries or married to a beneficiary. The will itself can be validly signed and witnessed and yet a gift be lost: a beneficiary who acts as a witness, or whose spouse or civil partner witnesses the will, loses that gift.
If you die without a valid will you die intestate, and a fixed statutory order decides who inherits. That order recognises spouses, civil partners and blood relatives. It does not recognise an unmarried partner, however long you have lived together, and it does not automatically provide for step-children. That single point is the reason most people are told to write one.
This describes the law of England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules.
Step by step
What the process involves
- Step 1
Work out what is actually in the estate
Property, savings, investments, business interests, vehicles, personal items and debts. Some things sit outside a will altogether — a jointly owned home held as beneficial joint tenants passes to the survivor by survivorship, and most pension death benefits are paid at the scheme's discretion under a nomination form, not by the will.
- Step 2
Decide who receives what, and in what order
Specific gifts, then the residue — everything left after debts, expenses and specific gifts. Say what should happen if a beneficiary dies before you, otherwise the gift may fail.
- Step 3
Choose executors and, if relevant, guardians
Executors apply for probate and are personally responsible for administering the estate correctly. Appoint people who will realistically be able to do it, tell them, and name a substitute.
- Step 4
Have it drafted, then sign it correctly
Correct signing, witnessing and testamentary capacity are essential; ask the specialist to explain and check the process. Two separate points are often confused: a will can be validly signed and witnessed, and yet a gift can still be lost where a witness — or a witness's spouse or civil partner — is a beneficiary under it.
- Step 5
Store it and review it
Executors need to be able to find the original. Review after marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a property purchase or a change in business ownership. Marriage generally revokes an earlier will; divorce does not revoke it but treats a former spouse as having died before you.
Being straight with you
What this cannot do
- A will cannot control assets that pass outside it, such as jointly owned property held as joint tenants or discretionary pension death benefits.
- A will cannot prevent someone bringing a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
- Writing a will does not by itself reduce Inheritance Tax.
- Cromwell Associates does not draft wills or give legal advice. We coordinate the enquiry and introduce you to a qualified specialist who does.
Before you speak to anyone
Useful things to have ready
Gather or think about
- A rough list of what you own and what you owe, with approximate values
- Full names of the people you want to benefit, and how to contact them
- Who you want as executors, and a substitute
- For children under 18, who you would want appointed as guardian
- Details of any existing will and where the original is kept
- Any earlier marriage, divorce or family arrangement that could affect who has a claim
Questions worth asking the specialist
- Are you a qualified solicitor, a member of a regulated body, or a will writer, and who regulates you?
- What exactly is included in the price — drafting, meetings, storage, later changes?
- Is this a fixed fee or hourly, and what would take it beyond the quoted amount?
- Do you charge for storing the original, and is there any ongoing fee?
- Are you named as an executor in your own draft, and if so what would you charge to act?
- How are complaints handled, and do you carry professional indemnity insurance?
Ask us to explain any charges that would apply, and any remuneration we may receive for making an introduction, before you decide whether to proceed.
Sources
Official guidance referenced on this page
Enquire about wills
Tell us what you would like to protect or resolve. One named contact will read your enquiry personally and come back to you.
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Cromwell Associates coordinates enquiries and introduces clients to appropriately qualified specialists. We do not provide regulated financial, legal or tax advice, and submitting this form places you under no obligation.
Your enquiry is reviewed personally before any introduction is made.