Have you made a Will?

08 June 2022

Wills have sometimes been seen as complicated legal documents that people only need to worry about when they get older or reach retirement age.

This is slowly starting to change, and today it’s good to see that the importance of Wills is understood more universally, including amongst younger people.

We see this with our clients, many of whom are choosing to draft Wills in their thirties and forties. This often coincides with an important life event: getting married, buying a first house or having a first child, all of which make people ask themselves what will happen if I die? It’s important to be proactive – putting plans in place early and taking control of your estate planning.

Woman and Wills

Whilst we’re seeing younger generations understanding the importance of creating Wills, it seems that some women, particularly amongst the older generation, appear a little bit more reserved when it comes to getting their affairs in order.

Most young women today work and are involved with looking after their finances from an early age. However, this wasn’t always the case. In earlier generations, the household finances might have fallen within the remit of the husband or father. If those women who have not been so involved in the financial decision making later divorce, separate or are widowed, then they may not feel so confident making financial plans on their own. As a result, they could delay making their Will because of this. That’s where we can really help give peace of mind and add value by engaging fully with you to find out what your wishes are and to make sure those wishes will be adhered to by creating a legally binding Will.

The Will Process

Following a recent survey, only 52% of people in the UK had a Will in place. Some of the main reasons why people do not have a Will are because they feel the process will be too time-consuming and stressful, or they simply don’t know where to start. At ZEDRA, we aim for the entire Will process to take no longer than a couple of weeks, including allowing time for administration and postal delay. It can often go much quicker due to the ability to communicate through video calling or email.

On average, a simple Will instruction takes up to 30 minutes, and we will guide you through the process, so you do not need to worry about anything prior to the call.

People appoint a professional to prepare their Will to make sure that the Will carries out their wishes but also to cover all bases and to raise any questions that they may not have thought about.

An open discussion about cost can also be helpful, as we know uncertainty on what companies will charge for drafting a Will can be a cause for concern. Here, we think it’s important to add that writing a Will isn’t always as expensive as many people think it is – even for a very tailored and personalised service including (socially distanced) face-to-face meetings.

Benefit from peace of mind

The importance of having a Will cannot be stressed enough; whether it is simply to give peace of mind that your assets will pass as you wish or relieve the burden on family and loved ones. If you die without a Will then, at an already difficult time, those closest to you will have to deal with your affairs under the Intestacy process, which is usually more time consuming and often contentious.

Here at ZEDRA, we want to help make the Will process as quick and easy for you as possible. With fees starting from £115 +VAT, there is no reason to delay. Contact ZEDRA now to discuss your Will with our UK solicitors.

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