Death:
Writing a will
Writing a will is not an isolated action. Once written it should be reviewed regularly to ensure it keeps pace with your family circumstances and financial position. A will can be amended (called a codicil to the will) rather than rewritten but if there are significant changes it may be better to make a new will.
Although there are many ways to go about writing a will, including packs you can buy at most stationery shops or online services, we recommend that you take professional advice to ensure that the document is correctly drafted and accurately reflects your wishes.
In addition to the financial and tax issues involved in writing a tax efficient will, there are a number of practical matters to be considered:
- Who will you appoint as your executors? Remember that executors need to be comfortable dealing with the management of your estate, which can include applying for probate and preparing tax returns for income tax, capital gains tax and inheritance tax.
- Do you need to appoint guardians for minor children?
- Lists of investments, bank and building society accounts and insurance policies will need to be prepared and other relevant documents need to be copied and kept with your will so your executors can ascertain your estate quickly and easily.
Writing your will is a fundamental part of your overall lifetime and death planning, bringing together a wide range of tax and financial planning elements. The links below will take you to content in other areas of the site which might be of use to you when writing your will:
- Probate
- Lifetime tax planning
- Your investments
- Retirement planning
- Your business
- Inheritance tax planning
- Trusts
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