5 Reasons your Will may be leaving you vulnerable

Whilst a Will is an essential document for everyone to put in place, making things easy for those left behind, most people will put a basic Will in place, not realising they could put their hard work and family’s inheritance at risk.

Here are five reasons your Will may be leaving you vulnerable:

1. Care Fees – could a share of your property be lost if you or your partner go into care in the future?
2. Remarriage after death – could your children be left with nothing if you or your partner remarry in the future?
3. Children’s divorce – could your children lose half of their inheritance if they divorced after inheriting from you?
4. Generational Inheritance Tax – your estate may have to pay 40% to the tax man, but are you also creating a tax issue for your loved ones when the time comes?
5. Are you looking to disinherit someone – sadly, some people can contest the Will, meaning your wishes may not be met.

With specialist advice, you can ensure your Will is watertight, protecting those you’ve worked hard for.

Care Fees

If you have assets above £23,250 in England, £18,000 in Scotland and £50,000 in Wales, you will pay 100% of your care fees. Many families will have to sell their homes to fund care. At over £1000 per week, it doesn’t take long for the house to be lost.

If you have a basic mirror Will in place, their spouse inherits everything when the first person dies. If they subsequently go into care, the local authority will means test the total value, including the deceased share. This seems rather unfair.

An appropriate Will can prevent this from happening.

Remarriage after death

With people living longer, it is becoming more and more common for a widowed person to remarry after the death of their spouse. Usually, if you have a basic mirror Will, If you die first, your share of the property is left to your partner. However, should they subsequently remarry, the property could become a matrimonial asset in the new marriage. If your partner dies, the property could pass to the new spouse, thus completely disinheriting the children from the first marriage.

This a called ‘Sideways Disinheritance’.

Again, with some advice and appropriate planning, you can ensure your share of the estate only goes to your chosen beneficiaries.

Children Inheriting at the Wrong Time

Most of us don’t choose when we die, which means children can inherit at any time, which occasionally could be the wrong time. When a child inherits, as soon as the money hits their bank account, that becomes a matrimonial asset in their marriage. A subsequent divorce could mean an ex-partner taking a percentage of their inheritance. It’s not a nice thought having to share an inheritance with someone you’ve just decided NOT to spend the rest of your life with.

Some expert advice can help you put measures into a Will to protect the inheritance from beyond the grave.

Generational Inheritance Tax

The tax man is a canny foe. He taxes us whilst we are alive and wants to again after we die. Everyone has an IHT allowance of £325,000, twice that if you are a married/widowed person, with up to an additional £175,000 each if you own a residential property being left to descendants.

We have to pay 40%of the amount above these to the HMRC at 40%. The rest goes to our chosen beneficiaries. We don’t usually consider whether we are creating an IHT tax issue for those inheriting or making an existing tax position even worse. We may have to pay 40% to the tax man, but will our loved ones also have to pay 40% AGAIN on that money?

Getting some good advice could ensure your Will protects your family’s inheritance.

Disinheriting Children

Many families find themselves in a position where they wish to disinherit a child. Unfortunately, by law, a child can contest their parent’s Will, and there have been some high-profile successes. Even if unsuccessful, the cost of defending a challenge can be huge.

It is unfair to think the wishes in your Will may not be carried out; however, with appropriate planning, you can have peace of mind knowing your wishes will be met.

With some advice from the Planning Bee, Wills and Trusts can help protect your family’s future.

We have even helped Martin Lock, CEO of Silversurfers, to write his Will to include a property trust. You can read his review here.

Here at The Planning Bee, we ensure that your and your family’s needs are at the forefront. We aim to ensure that your wishes are taken care of now and in the future. Our friendly, reliable team are on hand throughout the process, however big or small. We offer a wide range of life planning services, including will writing, asset protection advice, and guidance on mental incapacity issues, no matter the size of your estate.

We help you to avoid costly mistakes and remove the stress from vital decision-making so that you can spend time with those you love, safe in the knowledge that they’ll be provided for when you’re gone. While you can value your assets, peace of mind is priceless.

To speak to a Paralegal for some free advice about your later-life planning needs, please click here.

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