Confronting mortality is not something we are comfortable with, but everyone should put measures in place to ensure that their financial affairs are left in good order after they have gone.

At Goldsmith Williams Solicitors, we are able to offer a fast and friendly Will writing service. We will contact you every step of the way to ensure your requests or queries are dealt with efficiently.

We aim to avoid you having to fill in lengthy questionnaires if you are intending to make a straight forward Will or Joint Wills.

Goldsmith Williams offers a telephone service that enables our Wills team to contact you when it is convenient for you to discuss making your Will.

You can expect to have your Will prepared within 14 working days from us receiving completed instructions.

• Two thirds of the population dies without making a Will. This results in their loved ones being left with unnecessary problems at a difficult time. The costs of dividing up the Estate will be more than the cost of making a Will beforehand.
• A Will allows you to say what should be done with your money and possessions and is a record of your instructions as to how your Estate will be distributed when you die.
• If you die Intestate (without making a Will), your money and possessions will be divided up by the Government in accordance with the Rules of Intestacy. Some people may assume that everything will automatically go to their spouse / civil partner and children. This is not always the case.
• If you live with someone but are not married or in a civil partnership with them, that person will not be entitled to anything (unless a property is owned equally as Joint Tenants), unless stated so within your will.
• If you have been married / entered into a Civil Partnership or Divorced since you last made your Will, it may not be legally binding and you will need to consider making a new Will.
• If you have children aged under 18, your Will is the best place to name their legal guardians and make financial arrangements for them.
• If the total value of your Estate exceeds the current tax threshold you will have to pay inheritance tax at the rate of 40%. By preparing a Will there are ways you can minimize the amount of tax to be paid.

If you die without making a Will, then the laws of intestacy apply.

This means that the State (Government), will dictate who receives your assets on your death. Most people assume that when they die, their spouse or civil partner will receive all of their assets, but this is not the case. If, for example, you die intestate and you have children, your spouse will only be entitled to a statutory legacy of £125,000.00, your personal possessions, and an interest in half of the remainder. Your children will receive the other half, in equal shares if you have more than one child.

This means that your spouse may not be adequately provided for.

If you are not married, or do not have a Civil Partner, then in the absence of children, your parents will inherit your estate. If they do not survive you, then your siblings or remoter relatives will inherit. This may not be what you would have wanted, especially if you have an unmarried partner who you wanted to provide for.

It is equally important to keep your existing Will as up to date as possible. Making a Will or updating an old Will should be seen as a positive and important decision.

You can find that your circumstances have changed since your last Will was made. There could have been changes in the family, new additions or you may have come into some money.

Listed over the page are some important points to help you decide whether you require your existing Wills to be updated. Some simple updates to a Will can be achieved by you signing a document known as a ‘codicil’ (which then gets placed with the original Will) or you may find it more cost effective to create a new Will altogether especially if a number of changes are to be made.