While you might not be on board with the whole ‘New Year, New Me’ thing, thoughts do, at this time of the year, turn to making positive changes in our lives. Positive changes, not resolutions… resolutions won’t last until the end of the month. This is the perfect time to do a bit of administrative ‘housekeeping’ review insurances, get round to writing a Will or updating your existing one…

Writing a Will is something that we all know we SHOULD do but just never seem to actually DO. It’s almost a dirty word…! In fact every year the number of people in the UK that do not have a Will goes up and up – if recent figures are to be believe it’s around the 50 million mark… that’s 30% of the Adult population.

However, should you die without a Will in place your loved ones may not benefit in that way that you, or they would have hoped. Instead, your assets will be divided under the Governments laws of intestacy. Meaning that you are not in control of how your estate is divided… So, making a Will should really be a no-brainer… right?

So, why do we avoid writing a Will?

There are many reasons that writing a Will doesn’t reach the top of ones to do list until it’s really necessary. Here’s our list 7 most common reasons/excuses as to why many people would rather empty the hoover than write a Will…

I’ve been meaning to…

I just haven’t got around to it (sound familiar?). The number one reason (probably) that people haven’t made a Will… apathy. You’ve Been thinking about it for ages but just haven’t got round to it. It’s too complicated/requires too much effort I’ll do it another time.Yes, life can be hectic (especially when you don’t want to think about something) but if you want to protect your assets and/or you have young children to think about– only by writing a Will can you name legal guardians for them – setting aside a couple of hours one evening to write your Will would be a very productive use of time.

I’m too young, it can wait till I’m older

The problem is with putting something off until later is that sometimes later is too late. Sometimes the unthinkable does happen. And, if you are a parent with young children or living with your partner but you’re not married you need to provisions in place to ensure both are looked after.

I don’t want to think about dying

WHO DOES! But, unless we discover the elixir of youth anytime soon it’s going to happen to us all. Actually I’m not entirely sure that I’d want to live forever. I’m tired now…

Everything will go to my Partner/Children

Will it though? If you’re married, on first passing assets go straight to the surviving partner. But, on second passing where do they go? But, what if you’re not married, what happens then. Well, probably not what you want to happen. The complexities of the modern family are not yet recognised by the laws of intestacy – so unmarried partners, step children and friends, should you die without a Will in place, will all be overlooked and receive, nothing.

I don’t have any assets

The property market has gone mental and getting on the ladder has never been so difficult – first time buyers now need a deposit of around £33,000 an 88% increase from the £17,500 required just SEVEN years ago. Consequently, more and more people are in rented accommodation or staying at home to try and save the deposit but we are actually worth more than we think! Property is not the only asset you can protect. If you have a life insurance policy, savings (that deposit nest egg?), jewellery, death in service benefit you need to write your Will to ensure these go to the people that you want them to.

Digital Legacy
These days it’s not just tangible assets that you need to think about – what will happen to your ‘digital assets’ once you’ve gone? All those thousands of pounds you (may) have spent with Apple well, you don’t ACTUALLY own this content. I know, right. Virtual product = Virtual ownership. What you’ve paid for is to lease the content from them until you die. Please don’t assume that on production of a death certificate Apple etc will unlock a phone, laptop, release an account. They won’t. Not even for the Police – except on very rare occasions, let’s hope your death is NOT one of them – read more about how to leave a digital legacy here.

It’s expensive

Actually it’s really not Solictors will charge you between £200-400 (ex VAT) to draft a pair of mirror Wills. With us it’ll only set you back £125 that’s for single or mirror Will and INCLUDES VAT

NEW YEAR OFFER – In fact, until the 28^th February 2017 Wills – single and mirror – cost just £99 with Future Legal Services. Click here for more information or call 01322 664885 quoting New Year Offer.

Its complicated, I need to find all my paperwork and I just don’t have time

We know that writing your Will is a pretty daunting prospect. Your head is a jumble of paperwork and complicated legalese that you’re going to need to get your mind around, decisions that you’ll have to make and commit to. When can assure you it’s really not like that at all. We’ve spent the last 10 years working on making the process as simple and as pain-free as we can. You won’t need to produce any paperwork – you will need a rough idea of your estate value – and your appointment should take around 90 minutes. In fact we’ve made writing your Will so straightforward you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

So, in conclusion (we say that tongue firmly in cheek!) only by putting a Will in place can you protect your assets and safeguard the future of everything and everyone that is precious to you. And, writing a Will – with us anyway – is nowhere near as complex, expensive or time consuming as anyone things.

Make this the year that you write your Will

SPECIAL OFFER:  Wills just £99 until 28.02.17 – offer includes single or mirror Will AND VAT

Click here to request a call back, or please contact us on 01322 664885 or enquiries@futurelegalservices.co.uk  quoting NEW YEAR OFFER!