Making a will is importance to your family members. It may appear like a small omission but not making a will can cause problems for remaining family members in the unfortunate event that you die. It’s not just rich people that are required to make a will, you should divide your assets no matter how small they are, for the following five reasons:
- Legal obligations dictate how the money, property, and possessions should allocate if you die without a will. Could cause upset and distress to specific members of your family as they may not inherit what they hoped.
- Unmarried or cohabiting partners will have no entitlement to inherit unless there is a will in place. The death of a partner could cause significant financial problems for the remaining partner. In some circumstances, assets such as the house could take from them with no compensation or home.
- It is important to make arrangements for any children that you have. In your will, you will be able to declare which family members you wish for them to live with in the event of your death.
- Family members are set to inherit more if you already have a will in place, as inheritance tax will reduce. This tax could eat up a sizable chunk of the finances if your assets have to deal with “intestate.”
- Any significant changes in circumstances mean that you should update an existing will. For example, if you no longer live with an ex-partner you may wish to remove their name from your will so that they will not inherit your possessions.
You need to think about a variety of issues when making a will such as the total value of your assets, who will take care of your children or you if you become mentally incapacitated.
