Types of Wills … Let’s Break it down

Over the next few blogs we will endeavour to shed some light on the different types of Will options available in a bid to help you decide which works best for you.
A good place to start is with couples Wills, of which there are three different types, all quite similar to each other. Joint Wills, Mutual Wills and Mirror Wills

A Joint Will is a single document that two people or more agree to draw up which generally relates to sharing their property in a particular way.

This kind of Will is particularly common amongst married couples.
These Wills are normally identical or very similar and give common benefits. They tend to dictate that the surviving spouse should inherit all their property if they die first and vice versa. After the death of the second spouse, the property is shared as specified in the document. The law treats a Joint Will as being two or more separate Wills.

Mutual Wills on the other hand occur where two or more testators make separate Wills or make a joint Will and in doing so agree to confer on each other reciprocal benefits or agree to confer benefits on the same beneficiaries.

These kind of Wills have four basic requirements and a strict standard for enforceability:

1.      The agreement must be made in a particular form.
2.      The agreement must be contractual in effect.
3.      The agreement must be intended to be irrevocable.
4.      The surviving party must have intended the will to reflect the agreement.

A Mutual Will creates a binding agreement between the two parties which prevents the survivor from changing their Will and disposing of the estate in a different way. Mutual Wills are preferred by couples in a second marriage with children from a previous relationship or marriage.

Mirror Wills are exactly that, they “mirror” each other. The terms generally are similar and complementary. This is a legal document that allows a couple (married, civil partners or unmarried) to write down their wishes for when they pass away.

In all three cases these types of Wills are convenient and cost effective and they ensure that spouses are well taken care of if one dies and that the estate is passed to his children at death.

 

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To Will or not to Will?

(DIY)Do-it-yourself may work in various aspects of our lives like plastering your living room or cleaning the dust out of your laptop.
Here are some interesting figures about Wills, DIY wills and the general attitude from the public towards them.

Do- It- Yourself Wills- Good or bad idea?

Few people below the age of fifty ever consider writing a Will. There is this belief that Wills are for elderly, wealthy people yet a Will can go beyond deciding who should inherit the family castle. Look at it this way –  creating a Will ensures that your loved ones receive items of sentimental as well as monetary value.

It’s interesting how many wealthy people die without a Will or don’t update their Will to suit a change in their circumstances. Such an example is Peter Brocks.

In cases where a Will isn’t made the deceased’s property will be shared out according to certain rules. Under these rules only married or civil partners and close relatives can inherit possessions owned by the deceased.

If someone makes a Will that is not legally valid it is down to the State to decide how the estate will be shared out, not the wishes expressed in the Will.

Whilst in many cases people invest in professional help when making a Will it is possible to write your own. Something which can be done from home and without a solicitor. However care and advice must be taken to ensure that a home produced Will is a legal document.

One of the main reasons people opt for DIY is because of cost. Tesco sells their DIY Will kit for £10, Last Will and Testament by Lawpack for £9.99.

A solicitor charges between £95 and £150 for a simple Will, yet their advice and the assurance that this is a legal document may be worth the additional cost.

Either way it is worth checking out what common mistakes are made in DIY Wills:

• Failing to take account of the possibility that a beneficiary may die either before the person making the will or before the estate is settled.
• Lack of formal requirements needed to make a Will legally valid.
• Changing the Will without a signature or witness. If these alterations are not signed and witnessed, they are invalid.
If all the money and property owned isn’t accounted for the property might fall under the rules of intestacy.

Solicitors have detailed guidelines that are designed to avoid foul play and vary from state to state. Making your own Will without these guidelines often renders the Will worthless since it is not in the right format.

Possibly one of the most cost effective routes is to produce your own Will and pay for a solicitor to ensure it is a legally binding document. Certainly it will offer all concerned peace of mind.

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Children and the internet – What you didn’t know

The internet plays a major role in our lives on a day to day basis and that of our children without us realizing how long they spend online each day.

Whilst this might in itself not be a bad thing, the jury is still out on weighing the pros and cons. Key really is for parents to take responsibility of their children in terms of how they engage online.

Here are some facts and figures to show the visual seriousness of this online addiction.

Children and the internet – How safe are they?

No one seems too surprised by the fact that some 7.5 million users in the US alone violate Facebook’s member requirement every single day – simply by being under 13 years of age.

We have reached a stage in our digital era where digital consumers are increasingly starting younger. According to a study by the non-profit organisation, Joan Ganz Cooney Centre, more than two-thirds of 8-year-old children go online each day.

Whilst this might in itself not be a bad thing, the jury is still out on weighing the pros and cons. Key really is for parents to take responsibility of their children in terms of how they engage online.

Certainly this age of super connectivity has some drawbacks – from attention deficit, to lack of face to face engagement – having said that there are numerous positives from the way children can find out about the world around them, gain access to information, share, connect and engage – granted this is a whole new way of doing it but that does not mean it is all bad!

It is interesting to note that books were once considered bad for us – that they may indeed ‘brain wash us’. There are always two sides to any coin and the fact that we are neophobic by nature accounts for why we tend to be suspicious of any change in our lives.

Let’s focus instead on the benefits that digital offers us and ensure we keep our children safe as we would in any environment – familiar or otherwise!

 

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