FAQs - General
Below are a list of all our FAQs. If your question is not answered below, please contact us.
Q. Who is eligible to make a Will?
You must be over 18 at the time
you are making a Will, and you must not be suffering from any mental disorder
that effects your ability to make a will. You must also have the relevant
‘testamentary capacity’- this is the mental capacity to understand all of the
following:
- The nature
and effect of making a will
- The size
and nature of your estate (what you own)
- Any moral
claims that you ought to give effect to i.e. the claims that any family members
may have on your estate.
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Q. Why should I make a Will?
What happens if you die without a valid Will?
If you die without a Will, the Rules of Intestacy decide who inherits your estate.
You have no control over where your assets go.
In England & Wales, intestacy follows the Administration of Estates Act 1925.
In Scotland, it’s governed by the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964.
The estate is divided based on who survives you and its value—often not matching your wishes.
Key points: Unmarried partners have no automatic right to inherit without a Will.
If you have minor children:In England & Wales, courts or local authorities decide guardianship if none is named. In Scotland, social services may decide custody without a named guardian.
To ensure your estate and children’s care go as you want, make a valid Will.
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Q. How do I change a Will?
There are many reasons why you might want to change your Will, such as:
Changes in your family (e.g., new children or grandchildren)
Changes in your circumstances, intentions, or beneficiaries
Changes in your appointed Executors, Trustees, or Guardians
In Scotland, marriage or civil partnership does not automatically revoke a Will (unlike in England and Wales). However, it’s still important to review your Will regularly.
You can change or revoke your Will as long as you have ‘testamentary capacity’ — meaning you understand the nature and effect of making a Will.
The IPW recommends regularly reviewing your Will to ensure it reflects your current wishes. If significant changes are needed, you may need to write a new Will, and we advise seeking help from a professional Will writer, such as an IPW member.
If you have minor children and no one with automatic parental responsibility (such as a surviving parent), then social services may decide where your children live unless you appoint Guardians in your Will.
In England and Wales, Guardians care for your children until they turn 18.
In Scotland, Guardians are responsible until your children reach 16 (the age of legal capacity).
When appointing Guardians, consider their experience with children, willingness to take on the role, relationship with your children, location, and any financial support you want to provide.
Guardians can also serve as Executors and Trustees to manage any funds held for your children.
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Q. What are Executors and what do they do?
Your Will needs
to appoint persons who are ‘Executors’. These are people you have nominated,
who have the responsibility to deal with, and distribute your estate, after you
have died. They are effectively ‘Estate Administrators’, and can be lay
persons, or professionals. They musty have the requisite mental capacity to act
at the time they are needed, and must be over age 18.
Executors will
need to (including many other tasks):
- Locate and value all of your assets,
capital, liabilities
- Pay for any outstanding debts and taxes (e.g
Inheritance Tax if it is due)
- Pay for Funeral expenses
- Obtain Probate where needed
- Distribute your estate to the
beneficiaries you have specified in your Will
You need a
minimum of 1 Executor and it is sensible to have at least 2. You can name
additional people (and/or professional Estate Administrators) to act as reserve
executors instead. You can name as many as you like but only 4 can act at the
same time.
Often the job of
Executorship is not a simple task, so you may need to appoint Professional Executors. Your
Willwriter will provide advice in this respect.
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Q. What are ‘Mirror Wills’?
These are
separate wills usually made by a couple. They are usually very similar in that
the choice of persons (e.g. Executors, Beneficiaries etc) is the same in both
Wills.
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Q. Do I need a Solicitor to make a Will?
Because Will Writing is not a ‘reserved’ legal activity,
you do not have to use a Solicitor to make your Will. Instead, you have a
number of choices:
1) Use
a Professional Willwriter
Using an IPW member means you will be engaging a person
who is professionally qualified, proficient and keeps their knowledge and
proficiency up to date. They also work to a strict Code of Practice approved by the Chartered Trading
Standards Institute. IPW members all have a minimum of £2m Professional
Indeminity insurance.
Many will offer a
face-to-face service in your home (or via media such as Zoom) and will take
utmost care to ensure you are given the most professional service.
2) Use
a Solicitor
Solicitors are legally qualified, and are regulated by
the SRA (the Solicitors Regulation Authority). They are required to keep their
knowledge up to date. The Practice they work for will have Professional
Indemnity insurance. Many solicitors deal with a large variety of issues in
their workload, and Will Writing may be one of those tasks.
You may need to make an appointment to see them in their
office.
3) Try
to draft your Will yourself
This is a very high-risk approach as trying to do this
yourself (even using a published or internet-based Will kit) may mean the
documents may not be valid or constructed properly, or have the correct
wording, power etc to achieve your desired effect.
The risks of a Will not being valid or correct could be
disastrous for those left behind. Consequently, the IPW recommend you use an
IPW member, and get things done properly.
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Q. What are Trustees and what do they do?
Trustees have a
legal responsibility (they are entrusted) with looking after assets/ monies etc
to give to, or use for the benefit of, beneficiaries specified by a Will, or a
Trust in a Will.
Often Trustees
are also Executors, although you can appoint separate Trustees in your Will, if
you wish. Trustees will manage any
ongoing Trusts that are created by your will,
once your Executors have
completed the administration
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Q. Can beneficiaries be Executors and Trustees?
Yes, they can.
It’s quite common to name the people who will be inheriting your estate as the
people who will benefit from it.
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Q. What about appointing Guardians?
If you have minor children (under
age 18) and there is nobody with automatic Parental Responsibility for them
(e.g. surviving parent) then social services will decide where to place your
children. To avoid this you will need to appoint Guardians for your children.
This means:
- Guardians are appointed to take on the
care of your children who are under 18, till they reach the age of 18.
- It is wise to carefully consider who you
would want to appoint, as the main things to consider are your proposed
guardians’ own situation and experience with children, and their willingness to
take on the responsibility if ever needed.
- You will also need to consider your
children’s relationship with them, their geographical location, and any
financial provision you might wish to make
Guardians can be
Executors and Trustees (e.g trustees of funds on the children’s behalf) where
needed.
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