Handy Hints - Handy Hints on Writing Your Will

Use people’s full names, including middle names where they exist if you know what they are. Don’t abbreviate names e.g. Andy, you should write Andrew if that is the correct full name.

As there might be many Andrew Smith’s in the world you need to specify that particular Andrew Smith’s relationship to you, e.g. brother. There’s probably only one Andrew Smith that’s your brother. Also, if a person’s relationship to you is not on our drop down list, that probably means that the relationship is remote, brother’s partners sister etc., if this is the case then enter “friend” – Nobody is offended by being called a friend!

Type in addresses as you want them to be written in the Will. Use CAPS at the beginning of house or road names etc. and again, don’t use abbreviations such as Lincs, write Lincolnshire etc.

An Executor is the person appointed in a will to administer an estate . I t is normal to appoint a professional as your Executor and we recommend Kings Court Trust Corporation plc. T here is no charge for the appointment and if you or your family wish them to resign they will do so with no charge. If you appoint them you can use their free Probate Helpline for any questions about the duties of an executor. Y ou can appoint other people as well and often a married couple or registered civil partners will appoint each other. To appoint them just type in "Professional" into one of the Executors section name boxes.

If you have children under 18 it’s vital that you nominate a Guardian for them in your Will but check with them first if they don’t mind taking on that responsibility.

Many people have items of sentimental value that they want to go to certain individuals but this can become complex in your will and also can change regularly which means you’d have to change your Will often. It’s better to include a Gift List in your will which means your will doesn’t have to be changed if you change a gift, all you have to do is write out a list of items and who is to inherit them and keep it with your will. To make this legal, all you have to write on the form in the gifts section is “Gift List” and we’ll include the correct wording that instructs your Executors to give gifts out in accordance with the list that you’ve written. The list should be kept with your personal papers or placed in the back of your will, not stapled there!

This is everything you own that hasn’t been previously gifted and is usually given to your spouse or shared between close family members, e.g. your children or parents. Think of it as a big pot of money rather than the individual items as this is what your Executors have to turn it in to, who would you want to give it to?

On the Joint Will form there's a tick box for 3rd level beneficiary, this is done to help you fill the fomr in very quickly and easily for standard family wills. Usually 1st beneficiaries of a Joint will is each other (husband/wife) then 2nd level are their children who are usually named in the Residue section of the form, then the 3rd level beneficiaries are usually the grandchildren, there may be many and there may be more on the way but that doesn't matter, if the children's children tick box is ticked then I use legal wording that covers all bloodline grandchildren. It is not necessary for me to have all their names.

This is the only part of your Will that isn’t legally binding, it’s just your preferences or requests. Rather than filling your Will with such information, it’s best that you just tell your Executors and family what you want to happen to your body when you die, this way you can go into far greater detail.