We recommend that you use a reputable solicitor to ensure that your will is watertight and that no mistakes are made. Wills have to meet certain criteria and must be witnessed and worded correctly to make them valid, and it’s also advisable to seek professional advice about inheritance tax, foreign properties or bank accounts, and circumstances which could make your will void in the future

Yes, however the danger is that you may overlook something that will either create confusion or affect the impact of inheritance tax. For example, you could express a wish that is not legally enforceable.

Your professional advisers will help to ensure that your Will addresses all of the relevant issues.

It can take as little as half an hour to write a straightforward will with a solicitor, yet gives you peace of mind for years to come, and provides reassurance to your loved ones that your wishes are recorded and will be carried out when the time comes.

Yes, married couples can opt to have mirror wills, which generally instruct that upon the death of one, everything will go to the other.

If your circumstances change, such as if you get married or divorced, welcome children or grandchildren, move house, if your home changes in value significantly, or if an executor or a beneficiary named in the will dies.

Here are some of the main types to choose from:

• A share of what’s left after all other gifts and expenses have been paid (called a ‘residuary’ bequest).
  • You choose the share, for example 99% to friends and family; 1% to your chosen hospice.
  • These gift are particularly useful as they are unaffected by inflation.
• A specific sum of money (called a ‘pecuniary’ bequest). It doesn’t have to be a large amount; it all adds up.
• An item of value, such as jewellery or stocks and shares, that can be sold to fund our work (called a ‘specific’ bequest).
• A reversionary legacy – A legacy made to a particular person for the period of their lifetime, after which it passes to another specified person (or organisation).

If you simply want to include a gift to BLGC you don’t need to change your whole Will; you can simply add to it using a form called a codicil, which can be download below or obtained by contacting our Legacy team on 01204 540100

You can take this along to your current solicitor or use the Free Wills Service if you prefer.

• Download England and Wales Legacy Codicil Form
• Download Scotland Legacy Codicil Form

Gifts in Wills are tax efficient.

If the total value of your estate is over £325,000 (the current inheritance tax threshold, also known as the “nil rate band”), your beneficiaries will have to pay 40% inheritance tax on the amount over £325,000, although there is an exemption for gifts left to a surviving spouse or civil partner.

This means that if your estate is worth over £325,000, your beneficiaries will only keep £6,000 out of every extra £10,000 over and above £325,000 that you leave. However, legacies to registered charities are tax-exempt and are deducted from your estate before any tax liability is calculated. The nil rate band is expected to remain frozen at £325,000 until at least April 2021.

From 6 April 2012, anyone leaving 10% or more of their estate to a charity will have any part of their estate which remains subject to inheritance tax after deduction of the charitable gift taxed at 36%, rather than 40%.

With effect from 6 April 2017, where a person dies leaving their main place of residence (or equivalent assets where they have downsized to a smaller property) to a direct descendant (i.e. child or grandchild etc), their estate will receive an additional nil rate band of £100,000.

The level of this additional nil rate band is currently intended to rise in annual instalments to £175,000 by 2021.

However, it only applies to legacies of residential property to direct descendants and not to other relatives (such as siblings, nephews/nieces etc).

Married couples and civil partners can combine their tax allowances. This doesn’t raise the inheritance tax threshold to £650,000, but it allows the surviving spouse or civil partner to benefit from any unused portion of their spouse or partner’s allowance.

Once introduced, any unused part of the additional nil rate band for gifts of residential property will also be transferrable to a surviving spouse in the same way.

The above information is basic general guidance only and should not be treated as professional advice. Inheritance tax is a complex topic and each individual’s tax situation is different, so we always recommend consulting with your solicitor when making any changes to your Will.

Stay up to date with changes to inheritance tax via HMRC.

You can appoint a maximum of four executors and it is recommended that you should appoint at least two. Their role is to ensure that your wishes are carried out. An executor must be over 18 years old.

We suggest that you should identify someone who you feel is reliable – most people choose members of their family as executors of their Will. Whomever you choose, you should ask them if they are prepared to serve as your executor before appointing them formally.

It is also possible to appoint your bank manager, solicitor or accountant as executor, as this will avoid problems if your other executors die before you. However, professional executors are likely to charge a fee for their services.

Yes. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, marriage (or remarriage) will normally invalidate your current Will.

It is therefore very important that you make a new Will as soon as you marry.

If you don’t have a valid Will on your death, your personal wishes may not be implemented.

The law will decide what happens to your estate. This may mean that your intended beneficiaries receive nothing.

If you die intestate and without a living relative, your estate will go to the Crown.