Leave a Legacy

Making a Will is the only way to ensure that the items and property that make up your estate are left to the people you wish to benefit after your lifetime. Without a Will, the law decides how your estate is distributed and the people you care about may not receive anything. A Will expresses your wishes in correct legal terms, leaving no room for doubt, and gives you peace of mind that your estate will be distributed as you intended.

Making a Will needn’t be time consuming or expensive. It can be broken down into the following simple stages:

1. Appoint a professional adviser – usually a solicitor, although your bank may also be able to offer advice.
2. Assess the value of your estate – your professional adviser will be able to help with this. It should be the estimated sum total of your property, possessions and money at the end of your lifetime, minus any outstanding loans or mortgages that you may have.
3. Decide who you want to benefit from your Will – you don’t have to make a difficult choice between family and charity. You can give security to those you love and the causes that you hold dear. Giving to a charity can also help to reduce the inheritance tax payable on your estate.
4. Choose an executor to ensure that your wishes in your Will are carried out – your executor(s) can be a professional adviser, a friend or a relative. Many people choose to have a number of executors (the maximum is four) to share responsibilities.An executor can be a named beneficiaryin your Will.
5. Keep your Will up to date – changes in your personal circumstances may make your Will out of date, so it is good to review it from time to time to make sure it continues to reflect your wishes. If the changes are straightforward you can make a Codicil –a simple document that alters an existing Will. Your professional adviser will be able to help you with this.
6. Keep your Will safe – it is advisable to entrust the original Will with your solicitor and to keep a copy at home. Tell your executor where it is

Your legacy can be a tax efficient method of ensuirng the good work that we do carries on into the future. We are small enough for your legacy to make real difference.

Thanks for thinking about us.