Why do I need a Will?

• Without a Will – you have no say as the government decides who inherits your hard earned money via the Rules of Intestacy.

• Parents- In your Will you can appoint a guardian for your children. This is a person or persons of your choice to look after your children if they are under the age of 18 years. Without a Will, the authorities will be involved as to who will care for and raise your children!

• Reduced Costs – With a Will in place, there is usually less expense and it is quicker to administer the estate

• Married Couples - It is commonly believed that husbands and wives are automatically entitled to inherit everything from each other, but this is not the case

• Partners – a partner may get nothing from their partner’s estate as the law makes no provision for them to automatically receive anything!

• Future security - A carefully prepared Will which is drafted with appropriate trusts can minimise the amount of inheritance tax paid, can guarantee your children will inherit and not lose out due to remarriage or new partners, and can provide protection for your home from care home fees

• Beneficiaries - You may want to prevent certain members of your family benefiting from your estate; this can only be done through a Will. On the other hand; you may want to leave something to friends, colleagues or charities; this will only happen if you make a Will

• Personal items – Without a Will there is no guarantee who will receive those important family items!

“Your family’s future security and your peace of mind are our priority. However we don’t want to just produce a Will for you, our commitment is to listen to you and identify your needs and desires. We then tailor our advice to suit you and your circumstances and ensure you have the time you need to ask all the questions you want and need to ask. Book an appointment with one of our estate planning experts or request a free information pack and get started today!”

 What’s included in our Foundation Wills?

Our Foundation Single and Mirror Wills cover all the essentials including executors, guardians, legacies, beneficiaries and funeral requests. Please download the Candid Wills’ information booklet for details regarding these. We also include full estate planning advice from one of our expert estate planners, so you are fully aware of any additional protection that your estate may need or could benefit from. Naturally it is up to you whether you decide to follow any additional advice you may be offered or not. We allow you the option of appointing 2 or 3 layers of executors, guardians and beneficiaries to try to ensure the will is as future proof as possible and to try to limit the amount of updates your document may need, as your circumstances change over the years.

What if a Foundation Will cannot accomplish what I need or want?

Comprehensive Wills: For some people a basic will is all they need to protect their loved ones and their assets. In some circumstances however, more is required and we provide for this through our comprehensive wills. Perhaps you own a property, have inheritance tax issues or want to leave part of your estate to a disabled beneficiary and so forth. In these circumstances we would talk you through trusts that you may want to add to your will for additional protection. For more detailed information, please look at our estate planning page.

How do I know what type of will I need?

Wanting to make this as simple as possible for you, we provide a free assessment of your needs!

How does the free assessment of my needs work? This is usually provided as a telephone based discussion, but can be provided via a face to face appointment if you prefer. This free assessment allows you the opportunity to ask all the questions you want to ask about making a will and allows us the opportunity to identify what your needs are. This places you in the best position to make the right choices for your loved ones. Through this service, we are able to offer you a realistic idea upfront of what you require and a realistic price upfront for how much it would be if you chose to follow through on the advice you’re given. Naturally if nothing other than a Foundation Will is needed then nothing further will be recommended. No matter what advice we offer, if a foundation will is all that you want then that is your choice, but we’ve placed you in a fully informed position, whereby you can decide what level of protection you want to provide for your loved ones and your assets. Whether you then proceed and book a will appointment with us or not is completely up to you.

It is good to note that you do not have to do anything other than a basic will. Even if a trust of some kind will provide added protection to your estate, it will always be up to you whether to add this additional protection or not. We will always put you in a fully informed position, that enables you to make the choices you deem to be best!

What if I already have a Will?

Key questions to ask are:

• Is it up-to-date and relevant?

• Does it still say what you want it to say?

• Does it protect your home from care costs?

• Does it minimise your liability when it comes to inheritance tax?

• Does it protect your children if your partner remarries?

Please feel free to contact us and our expert estate planners can help you to determine whether your existing will is suitable for your current circumstances and needs.

OUR PROMISE:

We promise to ensure our company shows the patience and empathy needed to help families through the sometimes difficult choices they need to make. We understand first hand how hard it can be to make decisions relating to your family. Deciding who you would trust to care for your children if you’re not able to is one of the hardest choices you could have to make. Some of these choices are perhaps ones that we would rather not have to think about at all, but thinking about them and putting provisions in place, is one of the most loving and important things you can do for your loved ones! We further understand from personal experience the compassion and patience that our elderly clients need to help them as they make later life choices, which again may not be easy to make and contemplate. As a company that cares, we put your peace of mind and your family’s future security at the heart of everything we do and do so with care and understanding.