Why Write A Will

We all have the feeling that we’ll live forever when we are younger, which is why statistically, *59% of UK adults haven’t made a Will, and that goes up to 65% among 45-54-year-olds.

Let’s take a look at life’s journey and see when and why you need to make a Will.

18+ Years Old: Youthful Adulthood, starting off on life’s path

If you have a child of your own, but own little to nothing of value then a Will is needed because your child or children will not go where you assume, immediately, if tragedy struck.
- The father is absent, but his mother wants custody and so does your mother – this can cause an issue!
- What happens to the child or children if they get into a dispute and dis-credit each other’s reputations to the authorities in an attempt to seem the better candidate? – This adds further delays and safeguarding protocols for the children.
- Adoption can take up to 6 months of vetting procedures, to include financial ability to support the children and personal background check of character.
- The children can be placed in foster care or an orphanage in these situations.
- Write a basic Will appointing a Guardian and maybe add substitute Guardians too, so the Courts can see what your wishes are, when you have passed away young and this carries a lot of weight in where your children grow up
- Get life insurance to ensure there is provision for your child or children up until they are 18, 21 or even 25 as this can be cheaper for a low-income household, as it specific for covering your child or children until their adulthood only, not for a longer term, replacing what you could have been there to provide and maybe a bit more too. Seek advice from an Independent Financial Advisor to ensure you have an accurate Life Insurance policy in place to cover this concern.
You have a child and have assets of value, and or savings.
- As above, but also create a Trust in your Will for your descendants to take a benefit when they reach 18, 21 or 25.
- Our Will Trusts are up to 25, unless their request is for education, housing, vocational, medical or transport need or if their request satisfies the Trustees that at their own discretion the money can be made available before your child is 25, as they make a sensible request for the funds.
If you own a business, then plan for the succession of that business to your business partners or your family, or have the shares held in Trust for your children to receive an income through their lifetime.
- Write a Will taking into consideration these factors and make the provisions to save a lot of hard work dealing with your business interest after your death.
If you own your own home, then consider who you have purchased it with and will they take your share, or will you give your share to your family, but allow for your co-owner to have an interest to live over your share for life, a set period of time or even for couples unmarried, a limitation of them having an interest over your share until they co-habit with another.
- Write a Will considering who is to benefit and under what arrangements.
- Consider Life Insurance to cover the cost of the mortgage, so your spouse, partner family or children can have the benefit of a property without having to make mortgage payments after your death as this is covered in the Life Insurance policy. Get independent advice on this from a regulated Independent Financial Advisor.
If you are young, carefree, without much else but money to enjoy in leisure, then this might not be the priority for you to make a Will at this stage. Did I have a Will at this stage in life, no I didn’t.

30+ Years Old; Adulthood, Marriage, Divorce & gathering Assets

Getting Married revokes all former Wills
- Plan early, make a Will in contemplation of Marriage up to 12 months before the date of the Wedding.
Step-Children
- Make a Will considering your relationship, their own inheritance from their bloodline and plan ahead.
Divorce
- Make a Will re-structuring your estate to illustrate your intentions, however, your ex-spouse isn’t legally removed from an inheritance claim until the Decree Absolute is issued.
- An unamended Will treats the ex-spouse as having died the day the Decree Absolute is issued.
You have a home, some mortgage, kids are growing up
- Where have you been until now? Make a Will and consider the points above
- If your children are over 18, then consider them to become Executors and Trustees with your spouse or other appointed family members
You have gathered wealth
- Seriously, where have you been until now? Make a Will

50+ Years Old: When health becomes the replacement of Youthful ambitions

You own very little and survive month to month, kids are grown up or you have no children
- Make a basic Will so what you do have can go to loved ones without the complications of trying to sort out your affairs
You have children that are estranged from you
- Make a Will, consider reducing their inheritance or cut them out entirely, but also write a side letter so the Courts can have your reasoning set out, should the estranged child try to make a claim from the estate
You have a home and share this property with your spouse, children are grown up and you are worried about losing your home in the future to pay for Care Home fees
- Make Wills, sever the tenancy of your home to 50/50 ownership and create Trusts to live over each other’s shares, so the property cannot be sold to pay for the care bill for one individual as it isn’t the other’s responsibility to pay, therefore they don’t have to agree to sell their half of the house or have a charge on it either.
- You cannot charge or sell half a house, so the home is protected
- Create a Trust which takes your estate on death and loans money to all Beneficiaries in the order of how and when you choose, so that money is protected for future generations, as any third party claim for care costs, your child getting divorced, a Bankruptcy or even your children having a high Inheritance Tax bill on their death, the money is recalled by the Trust as it is a recoverable loan when needed to be preserved

Why Make A Will

You appoint who deals with your estate, choose trusted family members first, or you may require a professional Executor or Trustee like a Solicitor, although this can be expensive and we encourage Clients to elect family first for this role.
Protect your children from the disruption of your death when they are young, by appointing Guardians.
You decide how and who takes a benefit of your estate in the apportionments you feel are fair to make sure your money and possessions are distributed in the way you prefer.
Reduce stress for your family and loved ones. After losing a loved one, the amount of additional paperwork and arrangements to be made can be overwhelming.
Avoid family arguments. Your wishes clearly set out avoids disputes over who should get what.
Set out the kind of funeral you’d like, from whether you’d prefer to be buried or cremated, as well as your choice of music, service, readings and where you may wish to be scattered.
- I always share my own wishes with Clients, as I have a daughter and step-children and don’t really want them to have the burden of maintaining a grave, or be bound to a location.
  - My ashes are to be divided into 3:
  - 1/3 to be made into a diamond for my daughter
  - 1/3 to be put with the roots of a tree and planted where there will always be public access, wherever she may live in the world
  - 1/3 to be scattered as close as (legally) possible to Tenby Harbour Wall, as it is my fishing spot and the family love days out to Tenby….and I don’t see it going anywhere for a long time.
- So be inventive, be creative and be you when you think about this; or
- Leave it blank and let loved ones decide. Just be yourself and you will know what suits you best.
Avoid the intestacy rules! There are set rules for who gets what and how much, this starts with spouse, but includes children after a certain figure, or it goes to parents, siblings and even uncles and aunts.
Plan the estate to reduce your Inheritance Tax, through proper planning using Wills and financial products connected to your estate.
Give to organisations or charities if you have no family or family you don’t wish to inherit.
Protect your digital assets. Increasingly, our treasured possessions are accessed digitally, from photographs to password-protected documents. Photos, Cryptocurrency, Social Media access for your children to see and many other digitised assets of importance to you.
Fur babies! Your Will can include provisions for any pets you have, such as who should look after them and a contribution of money for taking the pet over for you.

If you have associated any part of your own life journey with this article, then 'Why make a Will' should really be asking 'Why haven’t I made a Will' or 'Why haven’t I updated or upgraded my Will and estate planning'.

For Advice & Further Information, Speak To Our Team

At De Rossi Griffiths we are here to support you on your journey, from the starting point, we spread the cost of a basic Will for a single parent over monthly interest free payments. We then navigate the development of your journey advising you of what to do at different junctions and we also prepare you for when you don’t know how much time you have left, but want to protect what you have worked hard to build for your loved ones. Call today for a free consultation.

*From research carried out by Canadalife in September 2020