Wills, Trusts & Executries | Warners Solicitors & Estate Agents

For many people making a Will is something that they put off. After all, not many people want to think about death. By leaving no Will on death you risk creating a great deal of difficulty and additional work for your family. At Warners we are experienced in understanding the kind of problems the lack of a Will can create and are happy to spend as much time as required to gain an understanding from you of your personal circumstances and wishes to create the right Will for you.

Dying without a Will means that the Law (NOT YOU) decides who receives your estate when you die. Often unmarried partners, cherished friends or favourite charities miss out when they could be easily included in a Will.

Many married couples believe that if one of them dies the other automatically receives the whole estate. This is not always the case without a Will, but can be rectified by making a Will.

You may wish to balance the interests of your spouse or partner with those of children from another relationship. A well drafted Will can deal with these issues.

In a Will you can choose your own Executor and also where applicable Trustee. This can be particularly important where you are leaving money in a Trust to young children, grandchildren or an individual with a disability or impaired mental capacity.

In many cases your Executors will need to apply to the Sheriff Court for “Confirmation” to enable them to deal with your estate. This process is much longer and considerably more expensive without a Will.

Children and Spouses can have a claim on your estate and it is important to examine whether this is likely to cause any difficulty for you when drafting your Will.

Not only is it important to make a Will, but it is also important to review your Will every 5 – 10 years, or at any time when you have changed circumstances in your life such as retirement, marriage, divorce, birth of children or grandchildren or an increase in wealth.

At Warners we will carry out an assessment of your position regarding Inheritance Tax. If we believe that you are likely to have a Tax liability we will offer Tax planning advice to you.