Which will should I choose?

(for full prices go to the end of this section)

Single will

A Single will is designed for those who are single or in a partnership where you want to appoint different Executors and Guardians or have separate wishes for joint assets.

Mirror / Dual will

Mirror wills are designed for people living in a partnership, whether married or not, but have the same interests for their estate.

If you are married, living together or in any sort of partnership, then it is strongly advisable to make two seperate single wills.

Advance directive (Living will)

Living wills (advanced directive wills) are designed to give power of atourney to a nominated person. By nominating a person to decide whether to sustain your life when there is no hope of recovery means that you will ensure that prolonged suffering is minimised.

 

 

For either Single or Mirror wills, the following should be taken into consideration:

• List your assets
• Choose beneficiaries
• Choose Guardians
• Consider Trusts
• Choose Executors
• Consider Inheritance Tax
• Draw up your will
• Sign and date your will
• Store your will securely
• Change your will if necessary by re-write or codicil

Changing a will

A will must be changed when major changes occur that will change the content of the will, such as marriage, divorce, births, death of a relative or beneficiary or your financial situation.

If minor changes are to be made then a Codicil can be used. A codicil is a supplement to an existing will.

To decide which is better suited the guide below gives recommendations.

Required Change	Codicil?	New Will?
Changing your main beneficiary e.g. after a marriage or civil partnership
Creating a Trust e.g. after the birth of a child
Removing a living beneficiary e.g. after a change of heart
Increasing the value of a cash gift e.g. to reflect inflation since you made your Will
Appointing a different executor e.g. after the original intended executor dies
Appointing a different trustee e.g. after the original intended trustee dies
Appointing a different guardian e.g. after the original intended guardians get divorced
Reallocating a bequest e.g. after the original intended beneficiary dies
Changing your funeral wishes e.g. after conversion or after buying a funeral plan
Making more than one or two changes

Lasting Power of Attorney

There may be a time when you are incapable of managing your property and financial affairs or personal welfare and need someone to do this for you.

By appointing a friend, relative or professional to hold a lasting power of attorney (LPA) will allow them to act on your behalf.

A LPA is a legal document that lets you appoint someone you trust as an 'attorney' to make decisions on your behalf.

A LPA can be drawn up at any time while you have capacity and has legal standing (i.e. it takes effect) when it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

You can create two types of LPA:

Property and Affairs LPA

A Property and Affairs LPA allows you to choose someone to make decisions about how to spend your money and the way your property and affairs are managed. A registered LPA Property and Affairs can be used at anytime, whether you have the mental ability to act for yourself or not.

Personal Welfare LPA

A Personal Welfare LPA allows you to choose someone to make decisions about your healthcare and welfare. This includes decisions to consent to (or refuse) treatment on your behalf and deciding where you live. These decisions can only be taken on your behalf when the LPA is registered and you lack the capacity to make the decisions yourself.

Each LPA must be registered and there is a cost affected by doing this.

Property

When considering property there are two types of joint ownership; Joint Tenant and Tenant in Common.

Joint Tennant

This is where the property is jointly owned and no share of the property is listed. Upon the death of one partner the entire property will pass automatically onto the surviving partner(s). The value of the property should be taken into consideration for IHT purposes.

Tenant in Common

This means that you also own a specific share of the property and its value. You can give away, sell or mortgage your share. If you die, your share of the Property passes to your chosen beneficiary(s) nominated in your Will. Therefore if you want to leave your share of your property in your will then you need to hold the property as Tenants in Common or set out a Severance of Tenancy agreement.

Current legislation permits the Local Authority to seize all but £22,500 of a person's assets if they go into long term care to help pay for that care. Owning your Property in the correct way with your partner and making the correct will can prevent your property being seized.

1) Owning Your Property Correctly - Tenants in Common NOT Joint Tenants

The Local Authority cannot seize your Property whilst you and your partner are both alive if one of you goes into long term care provided that the Property is in both your names as "Tenants in Common". A Local Authority can only seize your home to pay for your long term care if you own it 100% outright.

2) Life Interest

If one of you dies you need to make sure that the 'survivor' never owns the property 100% outright. This is achieved by both of you having Wills leaving your share of the property to the eventual heirs of your estate after you have both died, but specifying that the survivor of you (following the death of the first of you) has a right to live in the property for their lifetime.

By doing this the survivor, where one of you dies, will only own 50% of the property - and so it cannot be seized to fund long term care.

 

Probate service

For professional help in probate (applying for probate and managing all aspects of probate) the Executor will have peace of mind that all aspects have been carried out correctly.

Executors may conduct all probate without support and free advice will be given.

 

 

Summary of prices

Mirror / Dual will	£150
Single will Advance Directive (Living will)	£75 £75 or £50 when bought with a single will
Secure storage (one off payment)	£15
Probate support	POA
LPA (Property and Affairs)	£195 or £180 when bought with a will
LPA (Personal Welfare)	£195 or £180 when bought with a will
Severance of Tenancy	£55
Estate creation and financial support products	£ price will vary depending on the individual needs