Why you need to plan for the future

Estate planning should go hand in hand with the rest of life's important planning and events such as finding the best savings accounts for you and your family, getting a mortgage, planning for university, weddings, having children and of course, going on holiday. 

However, it's something that a lot of people tend to leave until it is too late. 55% of UK adults do not have a valid Will* in place ready for when they pass away. But, why is it so important to think about the future? We've teamed up with our third-party partner and will writing provider, APS Legal to offer some words of advice on this topic. 

If a person dies without a valid Will in place then they are said to have died ‘intestate’. This means that their estate, essentially everything that they own or have their name to, Will be distributed in accordance with the rules of intestacy rather than according to what they would actually want to happen. With a Will in place, the administration concerned with splitting up the estate can be controlled, with assets passing to close friends and family or whoever things were specifically left to. 

A Will allows parents to appoint guardians for their minor children. Dying without a Will can cause complications, not least because the children in question become the immediate responsibility of social services.  Creating a valid Will offers parents control over the custody process, ensuring that the person responsible for their children’s well being is someone whom they trust implicitly.

Couples that aren’t married do not have the same legal protection as married couples, especially if one of the couple dies. If a cohabiting partner dies without a Will in place, intestacy rules are applicable, meaning the surviving partner would not automatically inherit anything at all, barring any jointly owned assets.

Remember to keep your Will updated once you have created it. This should be done when a life event occurs specifically and also regularly to check whether the appointments in a Will are still appropriate. Read all about the five situations in which you should definitely update or create a Will. 

What does having a professional Will do to help? 

Professional estate planning should offer you peace of mind in the fact that a professional has created this very important document for you and should be very reassuring. 

• APS Legal associates conduct an in-depth fact find and then spend a lot of time assessing their client's financial situations, their attitudes to risk and what solutions Will adequately suit their estate planning needs. 
• The conscientious associates Will go through everything from property to jewellery and vehicles to artwork and even pets in order to find out the value of an estate and whom the pieces of it should end up with.
• A professional Will should also ensure that assets are transferred to family members and loved ones in the most tax efficient manner, something that can be tricky to understand fully with a DIY Will.