Writing wills is the only way to ensure that your money, possessions, property, as well as your investments, has gone to the people or the causes that you care of.

How to write a will

Find out the value of your property. You can draw a list of your lasting assets and your debts too.

The assets that usually make an estate are

• motor vehicles
• your company
• your home, furniture and other household pieces of stuff
• all your savings (bank/building society accounts)
• insurance,
• pension funds
• investments like stocks and shares
• other property that you own
• other personal belongings registered under your name

Then calculate the amount of debt you have. Debts may be a mortgage, a bank overdraft, a credit card balance, loans or equity release. These assets should be valued on a regular basis since their value keeps changing over time. To clarify this you can contact the people responsible to know how long lasting they are.

The will should be transparent regarding your assets. Ensure you have stated well who you would like to gain from your will. Decide where the remains of the assets will go (any money or property that is generally left after meeting the funeral along with administrative expenses, taxes, and legacies). State what to be done if one of your beneficiaries dies before you. If you desire to give any particular gifts to specific individuals like charity, ensure that you have included the correct information like the full names, addresses, and the charity’s registered number. Erroneous information might make your chosen charity to be denied the gift. This is a long lasting decision make sure it is satisfactory to you.

Executors deal with the distribution of your assets once you are dead. It involves a lot of work and accountability, thus think about the people you appoint cautiously.

It’s now the time to write your will

Make your own will:

Make your own will and ensure that it is valid. It should be correctly drafted and signed.

Lawyers:

It is typically best because they offer legal advice. Look for one who specializes in wills. Ensure that they are registered with the relevant body.

Banks:

Some of the banks have will-writing services as well as advice regarding asset planning.

Professional wills writers:

these are not qualified solicitors; hence, they might not be regulated. Do thorough checks if they are registered before you choose one? You do not want to mess up because of less research on solicitors.

Ensure your will is valid

Your will should be in writing, and only you should sign it and witness by at least two people who should as well sign it in your presence. You should have the mental capability of making the will and also understand the effect that it will have. Finally, you should make the will willingly and not from anyone else pressure. The beneficiaries, their family or civil partners are not supposed to act as witnesses; otherwise, they will lose their right of the inheritance. They are not even supposed to be present when the will is being signed. It is not advisable for an executor to be a witness.

Making a will in sickness

The will can be signed on your behalf if you are not capable provided that you are in that room and you have the mental capability to make the will. It should contain a clause stating that you understood everything prior to signing it. In case of a severe ailment, you might require a statement from a medical practitioner certifying that you have understood what you are about to sign then you can get an attorney. You can as well appoint somebody else to have a short-term power to sign your legal documents by giving them a general power of Attorney.

Keep updating your will

You are supposed to review your will after every five years or after a significant change like a moving house or new grandchild, and you should never make changes to the original will. For minor amendments, you can add just an addition, called a codicil that must be signed and witnessed just like the will, even though the witnesses don’t need to be the same. For significant changes like remarrying or divorce, the will requires to be changed. You must make a new one and cancel the previous one.