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If you die without a valid will in place then you will be classed as having died intestate.  This will result in the Rules of Intestacy being applied to your estate. Watch out for my blog on intestacy rules coming soon for more information.  You will not have any say about who inherits or how much they get nor will you have any say in who will manage your estate and divide it up, who will be trustees looking after any part of the estate that is being held on trust or who will look after any minor children you may leave behind. I know for certain I want to be making all of the decisions about what happens to my estate, who looks after any trusts and who looks after my children.  That is why I have a valid will in place to make sure this happens.  I do not want these decisions to be left in the hands of statutory law when I die since I have the option to make these decisions while I am alive.  If you want to make these decisions for yourself while you are alive then contact me today to make an appointment or ask for further information.  Do not put off to tomorrow what you can do today.

Intestacy rules state that if you are married or in a civil partnership and your estate is less than £322 000 then your spouse or civil partner will receive the whole estate. If your estate is worth more than £322 000 then your spouse or civil partner all of your personal possessions, the first £322,000 and 50% of any excess over and above the £322 000. The remaining 50% excess would be divided equally between any children you have. If you do not have any children the whole estate would be inherited by your spouse or civil partner. If you are not married or in a civil partnership then your estate will be divided in equal shares between family members ranked in the following categories: Your Children including illegitimate and adopted children but does not include step-children Their descendants if your children have passed before you Your Parents Your Siblings Their descendants if your siblings have passed before you. Your Grandparents Your Aunts and Uncles If any relatives are found in one of the categories then the whole estate will be divided among the members of that category whether there is 1 member or 100 members. Once a member is found in one category then no one from any of the lower categories will receive any inheritance. If no relatives are found in any of the categories then the whole estate will pass to the Crown.

Due to personal family experience with a child who has down syndrome I will use this month to raise awareness in my personal life and business life. I will upload regular facts throughout the month about down syndrome.

Assets: Assets are things owned by the person creating the will.  This includes personal possessions, land, property, motor vehicles, pensions, life insurance, shares and bank accounts. Administrator: An Administrator is the person the court appoints to distribute an estate of a person who dies without a valid will in place.  This usually happens when a person applies for letters of administration.  The deceased person has no say over who this would be. Attorney: An attorney is the person who is named to make decisions on your behalf under a Lasting Power of Attorney document. Advice: Anyone can write a will themselves if they wanted to. However, when you speak to a professional either face to face or remotely we will look at the bigger picture and offer you tailored advice about Estate Planning as a whole. At Kat's Wills and Estate Planning I offer advice on all Estate Planning matters. This includes: A Professional Will Discretionary Trusts Vulnerable Persons Trusts Life Interest Trusts Lasting Powers of Attorney Inheritance Tax Property Protection Trusts Severance of Tenancy It is important when considering Estate Planning you speak to a Professional. There are many companies out there offering a cheap will but this is non-advised and solely based on what you put into their questionnaire. If you do not have the confidence and knowledge to draft your will yourself then these firms are not the best route for you. For further information or advice just get in touch with me at: kats-wills-and-estate-planning@outlook.com 07761 332 776

Beneficiary: A beneficiary is a person named in a will to receive part or all of the deceased’s estate.  This could be anyone you wish it to be such as a family member, friend or a charity.

Codicil: A codicil is a legally written document that modifies, changes or revokes part of an earlier will.  This will often be used if a person already has a will but wants to make a reasonably small amendment to it.  Instead of writing a new will they may create an additional document to be stored with the original will.  The codicil would override the clause in the original will that it refers to. Common Misconceptions About Wills: I often hear people saying they don’t need a will for various reasons including “they are too young” or “Wills are too expensive” or “everything will go to my family anyway”. My aim at Kat’s Wills is to help dispel these misconceptions.  You are able to get a professionally drafted single basic will for £150.00 and joint basic will for £200.00.  A professionally drafted single trust will would be £230.00 and joint trust wills would be £300.00.  These prices are highly competitive within the will writing and estate planning market and they are a fraction of the cost charged by a solicitor for the same quality of work. For further information please look at my guides on my website or contact me directly to discuss.