As Free Wills Month looms, Deana Luchia is thinking about diaries and dogs...
Key facts:
- According to the National Wills Report, around 50% of UK adults do not yet have a will
- Executors can be beneficiaries; witnesses cannot
- Solicitors recommend that you choose at least two executors, as the role can be an arduous and time-consuming responsibility
- Most free wills are simple or mirror wills (when a couple’s wills are almost identical). A more complex will is required if your estate includes, for example, business assets or foreign property, or if you have a blended family
- Most charity will-writing schemes can also update your current will
- The number of wills that can be written during Free Wills Month is limited. Try charities that offer year-round free wills if there is no more availability
It happens so often. I picture my son and daughter bickering over who doesn’t have to take in my beloved little dogs – worrying that no one will want them keeps me up at night – or hang my favourite painting on their walls (it’s beautiful, trust me, but they both vehemently and vocally dislike it). And I remind myself, yet again, that I need to reflect on what will happen to all my things when I die.
On and on it goes. I imagine my children deliberating about the rights and wrongs (definitely wrongs!) of reading my diaries from my 20s, when I was naïve and clueless, and my guardian angel was working double shifts. I see them wondering why on earth they should keep the three photos of a grandmother they never met (please hang on to them, as they are all that remain of my mum). Would either of them want my favourite books, my nice cashmere sweaters or the very handsome Bernard (a yucca standing over 10 ft tall)? And what about my car? It’s covered in dog hair and sweet wrappers. But still…
It is things such as these, far more than the bankable and coveted commodities of savings, bricks and mortar, that finally make up my mind. The time has come: I really do need to write a will.
Waiting until my mid-50s to get round to it is not, I like to think, who I really am as a parent. Dying intestate (without a will) would mean bequeathing my children the gargantuan task of applying for probate, a legal requirement enabling them to administer my estate. All that admin, the endless phone calls and emails – and all on top of dealing with the loss of a parent.
So why have I put it off for so long?
I guess it’s because I imagined it would require hunting down property deeds, bank statements, marriage and divorce papers, and what-have-you. But how wrong I was. The charities involved in Free Wills Month (a will-writing scheme that runs every March and October), as well as those that provide will-writing services year-round, make it incredibly easy for anyone to create a will. What’s more, there is no charge – the charities pay the solicitor fees – although you are actively encouraged to make a donation or leave a legacy to the charity you’ve chosen.
Typically, a charity will-writing service requires that you fill in a quick online form to check on your eligibility – you must be 55+ to take advantage of Free Wills Month, while year-round charities write wills for anyone aged 18 or over. Then you either make an appointment with a local solicitor (phone calls, home visits and in-person appointments are all good) or draft the will online.
I chose the latter method, which took less than 10 minutes. All I had to do was answer simple questions about beneficiaries (for any property and savings) and executors, and whether I wanted to include a memorandum of wishes. Although not legally binding, this latter allows me to state what I would like to happen to my dogs, my painting and so on.
A solicitor then writes the will and sends it to me for approval. Now all I need to do is have it signed by two witnesses (anyone who isn’t a beneficiary) and inform my executors of its whereabouts.
While waiting for it to arrive, I discuss the will with my family. They are relieved that I’ve finally got around to making one. As for me, I’m relieved to hear that my partner will continue to love my dogs, keep the adored/loathed painting and discard my diaries unread. My children promise to hold onto the photos of my mum, and both of them are interested in the car.
Which only leaves Bernard. As of writing, not a soul has put in a bid.
