While it can be tempting to leave the preparation of your will to another day, it is a key step to ensuring your assets are distributed according to your wishes and not passed instead to family members in line with the rules of intestacy that set out who receives from you in the absence of a will.

However, it is incredibly important for parents to make a will if they want to ensure certainty for their children’s future, as Alice Carter-Tyler, a Private Client Associate & Solicitor at WBW Solicitors in Newton Abbot, explains.

Drafting a will is a way to ensure that your children are financially provided for when you pass away and that the people you choose can help to manage those assets if they cannot do so themselves.

Financial safeguards

While your children are younger, you may want to leave your assets in a form of will trust for them, appointing someone that you choose and trust (“a trustee”) to be there to allocate money to your children as and when they need it; also meaning that your trustee could reflect on your wishes as to when and how your children withdraw funds from your estate.

Careful consideration should therefore be given to the guidance you provide to your trustees on how the money should be controlled, such as whether specific amounts should be used towards their education or to help them onto the property ladder, and whether they should receive the full tranche of assets when they reach a particular age, or perhaps instead a regular income.

Your children will usually take full control of their inheritance by default in England and Wales when they reach the age of 18, but if you think that is too young for them to inherit, it is possible to specify an older age in your will.

Blended families

A will is of particular importance if you have a blended family or other dependants who rely on you financially. Unless a stepchild or foster child, for example, is specifically named as a beneficiary in your will, they are unlikely to receive anything by default.

Such children may be able to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 for reasonable financial provision, a process which can involve a lot of time, money, and stress which you could seek to avoid by taking the appropriate advice while preparing your will.

Special items

You may want to leave personal effects that are special to you such as jewellery or items that have sometimes been in the family for generations to specific children, and again this can be specified in the will to ensure such assets go to the right people and are not sold to be added to the residue of your estate, or even perhaps used to help pay any inheritance tax bill.

Life events

Certain events in your life will require you to make a new will, one of these events is after you marry because a new marriage causes any existing will to be legally revoked. You should also ensure you review your will regularly, we suggest every three to five years as standard, to ensure it caters for any changes in your life. Other examples are a divorce, separation, deaths or births of family members or executors, inheritance of property, or a change in your financial circumstances.

Choosing a guardian

It is not all about money and one of your most important tasks as a parent when drafting your will is to name who you want to look after your children after you pass away. If you do not, the local authority or court will decide who your children will live with, which may be a close family member, but this is not automatic.

You should get consent from your chosen guardian before naming them in your will. It is wise to choose more than one guardian, as people’s circumstances can change and your first choice may be unwilling or unable to take on the responsibility if the worst should happen.

How we can help

If you need help drafting, reviewing, or amending your will so that your wishes are met and to ensure stability for your family, please contact our specialist wills and trusts legal team and we would be glad to assist you.

For more information on wills, or any other private client issue, contact Alice Carter-Tyler on 01626 245423 or email alicecarter-tyler@wbw.co.uk.

WBW Solicitors has offices in Axminster, Bovey Tracey, Brixham, Chard, Exeter, Exmouth, Honiton, Launceston, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Seaton, Sidmouth, and Torquay.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.