Making a Will while in isolation
As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to dominate the news, we are receiving an increasing number of enquiries from clients who want to be stay prepared and/or want use their time in self-isolation wisely.
So in a series of articles, our experts at Mogers Drewett are supporting their clients with up to date legal advice to cover a range of topics from making or updating a Will to contract advice for businesses if a force majeure clause is triggered due to the effect of the Covid-19. As well as explaining any new measures we have put in place for those self-isolating to help mitigate the risk of increased infection and to enable us to still provide a business as usual service.
Making a Will
Making a Will is not high on our list of priorities, after all none of us want to dwell on what would happen if we weren’t around – but if the last few weeks have shown us anything life can certainly be unpredictable so it’s never too soon to think about putting safeguards in place.
A painless process
Depending on your circumstances, making a Will can be surprisingly straightforward. It may simply be a matter of listing your instructions so that what you own and those you care about are looked after the way you want them to be.
We’ll happily have an informal, no obligation chat with you to address any concerns you may have or answer any questions and then if you want us to go ahead and write your Will, we’ll give you full advice and guidance so that you can make your own informed choices and decisions.
At the moment we have teams in our offices but also fully understand that you may not want to or can’t visit our offices in person. Therefore, we have IT and phone systems available to communicate with you on whichever way you are most comfortable, including phone and Skype. We also have processes in place to enable you to have your Will witnessed and be compliant without having to come to our offices (although it is still a requirement to have two independent people witness your signature).
Why make a Will?
- Look after those you love – You can make sure that your partner and your children’s future is financially secure by specifying their entitlement, and in the case of very young children, who you want as their guardian if they are on their own.
- Decide who receives your assets – You can ensure that what you own is given to people of your choice, such as family members, friends or even your favourite charity.
- Mitigate tax – You can ensure any inheritance tax allowances that may apply to you are fully used to keep the tax payable on your estate to a minimum or avoid it altogether, lessening the load for those who inherit.
- Decide who manages your estate – You can make sure that a person of your choice, rather than one appointed by the state, manages things for you. You could also make provision for a Trustee to oversee your wishes.
- Look after your business – You can ensure a smooth handover of your business and prevent problems for any partners, shareholders or employees that you may have.
- Make a difficult time a little easier – You can make sure that you those you care about are not burdened with the stress and cost of dealing with things through the state.
For more information about our Will service or if you would like us to write your Will, please contact our Private Client team on 01225 750 000.