Taking Control: Safeguarding the Distribution of Your Assets by Making A Will
By Miss Janine Byrne
Taking Control:
Safeguarding the Distribution of Your Assets By Making A Will
Article by Janine Byrne
www.Draft-Your-Will.com
The Importance of Making a Will
A valid will is one of the most
important documents you could ever put your signature to, as the
consequences of failing to make a will before you die can have far-reaching
effects on the people you care about most.
Despite the importance of this legal
document, it is still the case that only 3 out of every 10 people make a
will mainly due to lack of awareness as to why a Will is needed.
The 3 most important reasons why a Will
should be made are;
Simplifying Administration Process
Intestacy & Distribution of Assets
Inheritance Tax
1. Simplifying the Administration
Process
Before a deceased person’s estate can
be distributed to various individuals a grant of representation needs to be
obtained from the Probate office. All assets which comprise the estate
–including money in bank accounts - are frozen until this grant is
confirmed. Where no will has been made the process of applying for the grant
is drawn out, causing aggravated upset and anxiety for relatives and
possibly acrimonious disputes and legal costs over who should deal with the
estate.
A valid Will resolves these problems as
persons will already have been appointed by the Will – executors – to
deal with the estate and can obtain the grant and begin the distribution of
the assets in a minimal period of time thus saving costs, time and
unnecessary distress.
2. Intestacy & Distribution
of Assets
Making a Will is the only way to ensure
that the people you wish to inherit from your estate actually do so. Failing
to make a Will will result in the law of Intestacy being applied, and the
intestacy rules will dictate who will receive what, and often this will not
accord with what you would have wanted. For example;
If you are single you may want to distribute
your assets amongst selected friends and family. The rules of intestacy
will not take into account any relationships based on friendship, and
will distribute amongst relatives only, everything passing to the State
if no relatives can be found.
If you are living as cohabitees (unmarried
couple) you may want your partner to derive some benefit from your
estate, perhaps to remain in the family home for example. The rules of
intestacy would not take your partner into account; as far as the law is
concerned, you would be treated as a single person and your partner
would receive nothing.
If you are married with children you might
assume that your spouse would receive everything. This is not always the
case, as brothers and sisters and often your children will also have a
claim.
If you are a parent, you might assume that
if anything were to happen to you that your closest relatives would be
responsible for the care of your children. However, the matter will need
to be taken to the Courts for them decide who should have custody, a
process which can be very drawn out and distressing to the parties
involved. This particular consequence is of vital importance if you are
a single parent or unmarried couple with children. Making a Will is
invaluable by appointing Guardians to be responsible for the care of
your children.
Failing to make a Will leaves control
over the distribution of YOUR possessions and assets in the hands of the
State. Making a Will puts the control back in YOUR hands.
3. Inheritance Tax
The family home is often the main asset
and with the increase in property values more and more people have been
caught in the Inheritance Tax net. Failing to make a Will will result in the
rules of Intestacy being applied and these will only provide for the minimum
Inheritance Tax avoidance.
The
UK
legislation provides that assets up to the value of £275,000 are exempt
from Inheritance Tax and anything over this threshold will be taxed at 40%. When you add up everything you own
– including personal items etc – you may find you are worth a
substantial amount of money. In addition, you might be dismayed to discover
that you also be liable to pay inheritance tax!
The following table provides a
breakdown of how much inheritance tax might become payable on your estate.
Estate Value
Taxable Estate
IHT Tax @ 40%
£275,000 or less
0
0
£300,000
£25,000
£10,000
£350,000
£75,000
£30,000
£400,000
£125,000
£50,000
£450,000
£175,000
£70,000
£500,000
£225,000
£90,000
Making a Will is one of the best tax
avoidance tools you can employ – in addition to others and utilising the
exemptions which are available.
Making a Will is probably one of the
last – and most important – undertakings you can do for the benefit of
your family and those you love…failure to make one can have far reaching
and dire consequences.
About the Author
Miss JsByrne holds a Bachelor of Law degree with Honours & a post-graduate diploma in Legal Practice. Also gained qualification in Wills Writing & is the owner/author of www.Draft-Your-Will.com and DYW Wills & Estate Planning Newsletter
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/1980.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/1980.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| 