When people are diagnosed with dementia, they often look to put their affairs in order and one of the things that is high on the list is making a Will. Just because someone has dementia doesn’t mean that they can’t make a Will. What matters is if the person concerned can understand what is happening and make their own decisions about the process. Do they have testamentary capacity? One of the key requirements of a valid Will is that the person making it...
Lost or damaged Will? What can you do? In the UK it is a legal requirement that Wills are in hard copy format and properly signed and witnessed. This is all well and good but what happens when the hard copy is lost or destroyed? In this post, we’ll let you know what the legal position is if you know a Will has been destroyed or lost. If you would like to speak to a probate expert, call us free on 08001181603 Need to...
Your 10 step plan for making a Will Making a Will is often seen as a complex and confusing matter but if you are organised and know what to look for then it can be a fairly quick and easy process. In this post, we’ll give a 10 point plan to help you think about the sorts of things you need to do (and when you need to do them) to make a legal Will. If you would like to speak to...
How does a letter of wishes help when making a Will? When you make a Will you may think that you need to include everything all in the one document however that might not be the best course of action for you. A letter of wishes helps to supplement the Last Will and Testament with further instructions, literally a letter of your wishes that aren’t legally binding. Need to write a Will? Write your’s on the Smart Will App in 10 minutes for...
I don’t own a house – do I need a Will? The short answer is ‘yes’! There are a lot of misconceptions about the use of a Will and in this post, we’ll try and clear up what is one of the most asked questions of our advisors. What does a Will do? A Will is very simply a formal way of recording your wishes. It doesn’t necessarily help you avoid tax or probate but what it does do is let people know what...
Wills – What is a caveat? A caveat is a legal device used to give notice that there is a concern about the validity of a Will. The effect is simple – it stops any executor from obtaining a grant of probate and thus stops distribution of the estate. Placing a caveat is simple and theoretically is very cheap with only a £20 fee but the consequences can be far-reaching and very expensive as we will see in this article. How do you...
Can you contest a Will? There are five main reasons for contesting a Will and these are; #1 Not complying with the Wills Act 1837 #2 Undue influence or coercion #3 Lack of testamentary capacity #4 Lack of knowledge and approval #5 Forgery or fraud. #6 Reasonable financial provision In this post, we’ll go through each of these in turn and also let you know what happens when you contest a Will. If you would like to speak to a probate expert, call us free on 08001181603 Need to...
