James Scotney, Town and Country Law: The Importance of Having a Will

Led by James Scotney, Town and Country Law’s dedicated team of expert staff help clients to prepare for the future, providing a full spectrum of legal and tax and estate planning services, including preparing wills, trusts and lasting powers of attorney. This article will take a closer look at wills and how a correctly prepared and executed last will and testament can help safeguard the testator’s wishes to ensure that their assets are passed smoothly to the intended beneficiaries.

An alarming number of people underestimate the importance of making a will. No one knows what the future holds. Admittedly, no one likes to face up to the prospect of their own mortality, but putting off such an important duty can culminate in unforeseen problems and unwanted outcomes.

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The importance of having a will cannot be overstated. Dying intestate can cause huge emotional distress to family members already dealing with the death of a loved one, impacting their ability to mourn peacefully and put their financial affairs in order. Town and Country Law’s team of experienced lawyers help clients to protect their legacy by preparing wills that accurately convey the testator’s wishes, protecting the material wealth they leave behind. In doing so, Town and Country Law helps to ensure that bereaved families can work through their grief in the most pain-free way, enabling them to get on with living their lives.

Under the laws of England and Wales, where an individual dies without writing a will, their estate passes according to the rules of intestacy. This may result in a less than desirable outcome, with the estate potentially distributed contrary to the benefactor’s true wishes. Unmarried partners in particular are at risk of being overlooked, along with stepchildren, close friends and causes close to the benefactor’s heart.

When a married individual dies, their surviving spouse is entitled to receive the first £270,000 in assets. Any remaining assets are divided 50/50, with 50% passing to the surviving spouse and the other 50% divided between the deceased spouse’s children. Where the deceased has children from a previous relationship, this can cause problems. One commonly arising scenario is where the property the surviving spouse resides in needs to be sold to enable the beneficiaries to realise their inheritance. For some, the fallout can be catastrophic. However, all of this can be avoided simply by writing a will.

For business owners, business succession is a major concern. Having invested a lifetime’s hard work along with considerable resources into their enterprise, business owners must ensure they have the right end-of-life business arrangements in place to ensure a smooth transfer of ownership and safeguard the venture’s survival. It may be surprising to note that businesses do not automatically pass to the deceased’s next of kin in all circumstances. In some instances, that family member may not be the right fit to manage the venture in any event. By preparing a will along with a business lasting power of attorney, benefactors can ensure that the family business is passed to someone they trust to run it correctly.

Health and welfare lasting powers of attorney, living wills and advance statements help testators to take control of their future healthcare decisions, enabling them to outline their medical wishes in the event they become incapacitated and unable to communicate those wishes themselves.

Operated by Certainty, the UK National Will Register is a national database that provides details of registered wills. Town and Country Law’s will registration and storage service provide testators with valuable peace of mind, cataloguing the will’s location to enable family members to trace it following the death of a loved one. Town and Country Law stores its clients’ wills and other important documents in a secure, bonded and insured purpose-built warehouse, providing each client with a storage certificate outlining the document retrieval process.