By making a will you can decide what happens to your property and possessions after your death.

Although you do not have to make one by law, it is the best way to make sure your estate is passed on to family and friends exactly as you wish.

Most people will posses assets at the time of their death. Wills give instructions that are legally enforceable, on the appointment of an executor and on how assets should be distributed.

If the deceased has not bothered making a will then there are legal rules which dictate how the money, property or possessions should be allocated.

If no relative qualifies under the provisions to claim the assets then the Crown may be able to take everything. It is therefore important that almost everyone leaves formal instructions on how they require their assets to be dealt with after death.

Failure to do so may mean that the deceased person’s assets are distributed in a way that they would not have wanted.

Whilst there is no need to use a solicitor when making a will and thousands of people write their own , the rules and regulations are extremely complex and there are numerous pitfalls to be aware of. It is generally thought in the legal profession that solicitors make considerably more money out of sorting out messy or unenforceable instructions than they do dealing with accurate and properly drafted and executed documents. The most common errors made in homemade wills include:-

• being unaware of the precise requirements necessary to execute and sign the document
• failing to distribute all of the assets which may allow the Crown to make a claim
• failure to give instructions on how to re-distribute assets in the event of a beneficiary dying
• altering a will improperly after initial execution
• not taking account of changing relationships including marriages, divorces, births and The Civil Partnership Act.
• failure to consider that dependents may have a prior claim on the estate.

My brief Solicitors can guide you through the making of your will and provides in the majority of cases a fixed fee structure.