The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of people to review their home and work situations. It has also caused many people to review their finances and life goals and as part of that process to review and update their Wills.
Why reviewing your Will is important
A Will is a legal document which sets out what you would like to happen to your estate after you die. Your ‘estate’ covers everything you own including property, assets, your business, savings and investments, goods and chattels and also pets and animals. If you have children, your Will should state what happens to them in the event of yours, or both parent’s deaths.
How often should you review your Will
Your circumstances and those of any beneficiaries mentioned in your Will can change on a regular basis. As a consequence, your Will may not reflect your wishes at the time of your death. At Finch Tax we recommend reviewing your Will at least every 3 years. Whilst this may seem a short timeframe within which to review it, it is surprising what changes can happen within a 3 year period.
You should also review your Will soon after any life-changing events occur, these could include:
getting married;
having or adopting children;
getting divorced;
the death of a close relative, beneficiary or executor of your Will;
the sale of your business (or a merger or acquisition of a new one); or
significant changes to your overall estate (property, goods and chattels etc.).
FREE Will review service from Finch Tax
As a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Rhoda Cooper, Founder of Finch Tax, is qualified to both review and write your Will if you would like her to do so.
As part of our Wills service offering, Rhoda provides a free Will review service to all Finch Tax clients. This could be Wills that she has previously drawn up for you, or a Will that you have had written elsewhere.
Rhoda reviews your Will with you and will get you to consider all aspects of your personal and business life so that your Will is a current reflection of your intentions. Furthermore, with her extensive background in inheritance tax (IHT) planning, she will also highlight areas which need to be addressed to avoid future generations having to pay large sums of IHT. This could include creating Trusts, as a way to protect your assets, as well as looking at detailed tax planning strategies which can be tailored to meet your requirements.
At the end of the Will review process, Rhoda will give you a summary of the key areas you need to update or include in your Will.
Drafting a new Will
If you would like Rhoda to draw up a new Will for you, she will provide you with a quotation of what will be required and the likely costs, based on your Will review. She can also draw up Wills for your spouse and other members of your family.
Information about our Will review service can be found here.
Once you are happy that your Will accurately states your intentions of what you would like to happen on your death, Rhoda will then issue a final copy for signing in the presence of two witnesses of which she can be one.
Your Will should be stored in a safe place as the original signed copy will be required on your death. Because of that, Finch Tax offers free storage for all clients who use Finch Tax’s will writing service.
What if you don’t have a Will?
Don’t worry, we can still help if you don’t have a Will. If you would like to make your first Will, we will take you through the Will review process as outlined above, before drafting the Wills for you. Providing you then instruct us to write your Wills, we will not charge you for the Will review part of the service.
Free consultation
If, before booking a Will review or to draft new Wills, you would like to discuss your circumstances first, you can of course get in touch. We offer a free, no-obligation consultation. Simply email hello@finchtax.com or call us on 0116 216 7681.
We are here to help and to make what can seem quite a daunting process as simple and as transparent as possible.