A properly drafted Will is a binding legal document which comes into effect when you die. It sets out what you want to happen to your property and other assets after your death. It enables you to distribute your estate to people of your choice, it can help protect your estate from unnecessary inheritance tax and it can do extra things like appoint Guardians for minor children.

Yes, you can, but please bear in mind that a Will is a technical legal document which needs to be flexible and future proof. There will be consequences if you do not do it properly and it is easy to make mistakes.  Mistakes can have devasting consequences for family members, they can lead to the Will being invalid or unnecessary Inheritance Tax being paid.  A poorly drafted Will can lead to misunderstands and expensive arguments through the courts or for some or all of your estate to pass under the Intestacy Rules.

These are statutory rules which set out how your assets will be distributed amongst your surviving relatives in a particular order and in particular share. What you might have wanted is irrelevant.  There is never a situation when dying Intestate is justifiable.

The law does not compel you to leave anything to your family in your Will, but if you do not make suitable financial provision for members of your immediate family, cohabitees or other people financially dependent on you, they may be able to challenge your Will through the court and claim a share of your estate. It is therefore important to have a professionally prepared Will to have the best chance of defending this claim.

One of the most common myths, is that your estate will automatically go to your surviving spouse or civil partner if you don’t have a Will. This is simply not the case; they could even end up with insufficient money to remain in the family home and inheritance tax may become unnecessarily payable.

The Intestacy Rules do not currently provide for cohabiting couples, other relatives or stepchildren, friends, or charities that you might have wanted to provide for. If you have no surviving blood relatives your estate will go to the crown.

The rules also specify who is responsible for the administration of your estate and this can often lead to practical and emotional difficulties where the individuals entitled to act may not get on or might not even know each other.

The rules make no provision about the future guardianship of any minor children and make no planning for inheritance tax.  Administering an Intestate estate will be more expensive than if there is a Will.

For some people, simple Wills are the best way to meet their needs. For other clients, more complex wills are needed because of their family circumstances, assets or for Inheritance Tax reasons. Effective tax planning often means simple Wills are not the most tax efficient and actually, very few people’s circumstances are that straightforward.

A properly drafted Will can do a list of things, such as including express provisions for your funeral, naming who you want to administer your estate and who you want to be responsible for the guardianship of any minor children.

It can make gifts of your personal possessions or of money or property to friends, family or charities.

It can minimise the effects of taxation and will clearly state your instructions for the distribution of your assets to beneficiaries of your choice, including what happens if your chosen beneficiaries die before you.

You choose who you want to be your executors. These people can be friends or family or professionals such as a solicitor or accountant.

Executors are responsible for administering your estate in accordance with the law and your Will. They will be responsible for valuing and accounting for all your assets, making payment of any debts, preparing the tax returns for HMRC and the necessary application for a Grant of Probate. They will distribute the balance of your estate to your chosen beneficiaries in accordance with your Will.

It is usually advisable to appoint two executors and to have a substitute in case one dies or is unable to act. You need to appoint two executors when you are leaving property in trust for minor children or if you are creating other types of trusts in your Will.

Executors are also often referred to as Trustees in a Will.

You should consider who to appoint with care. The duties imposed by law on executors and trustees are onerous and is a personal responsibility.  The role is both time consuming and can be complicated and you should check that the people have agreed to undertake the role and understand their responsibilities.

Professionals such as solicitors and accountants can be appointed to act as your executors. They will charge for their work. You don't have to appoint a professional as an executor and if your estate is simple then it is not really necessary. Your Executors can always choose to instruct a solicitor of their choice if they want to in the future.

However, if your estate is complex then it might be sensible to appoint someone who knows what they are doing from the start.

It can make gifts of your personal possessions or of money or property to friends, family or charities.

It can minimise the effects of taxation and will clearly state your instructions for the distribution of your assets to beneficiaries of your choice, including what happens if your chosen beneficiaries die before you.

Parental Responsibility is a bundle of all those duties and responsibilities involved in being a parent. It includes things like the ability to sign medical consents, to make decisions about schooling, and the ability to have a voice when dealing with third parties like social workers.

When one parent dies leaving minor children, the surviving parent usually continues as normal. But if both parents die leaving minor children, you should appoint someone, maybe a member of your family or close friend as a testamentary guardian. Parental Responsibility will pass to that testamentary guardian if there is no parent left alive with parental responsibility.

Children cannot inherit until they reach 18 but you can provide for your minor children in your Will by leaving money for them in a trust and giving your trustees the power to pay money out of the trust fund for their maintenance, education and benefit before they reach 18 years.

You can also specify an older age and parents typically pick an age like 21 or 25 years.

Your Will can include specific gifts to specific beneficiaries of assets, money or items such as jewellery. Any specific gifts must be clearly identified and set out carefully. If you don’t set it out clearly enough or if you no longer own that item at the date of your death, the gift will fail. You can make gifts outright or place them in trust.

Any assets that are not dealt with specifically will automatically fall into your residual estate and will be dealt with as a whole after any taxes and expenses are paid. A common error in home made Wills is failing to ensure that all the estate is provided for, whatever that might be in the future.

As well as thinking about who you want to benefit, you should think about naming substitute beneficiaries in case your first choice dies before you.

Children cannot inherit until they reach 18 but you can provide for your minor children in your Will by leaving money for them in a trust and giving your trustees the power to pay money out of the trust fund for their maintenance, education and benefit before they reach 18 years.

You can also specify an older age and parents typically pick an age like 21 or 25 years.

In short, yes:

If you divorce, no gift in your Will will pass to your divorced spouse, nor can they act as Executors or Guardians unless your Will specifically says they can after divorce.

However, the rest of the Will remains valid.

Marriage is different. It will automatically revoke any previous Will completely unless that Will specifically provides for that marriage. As a result, you could find that you have an invalid Will and the rules governing intestacy would then apply.

Any assets that are not dealt with specifically will automatically fall into your residual estate and will be dealt with as a whole after any taxes and expenses are paid. A common error in home made Wills is failing to ensure that all the estate is provided for, whatever that might be in the future.

As well as thinking about who you want to benefit, you should think about naming substitute beneficiaries in case your first choice dies before you.

Children cannot inherit until they reach 18 but you can provide for your minor children in your Will by leaving money for them in a trust and giving your trustees the power to pay money out of the trust fund for their maintenance, education and benefit before they reach 18 years.

You can also specify an older age and parents typically pick an age like 21 or 25 years.

I advise that the original Will and any Trusts, Letter of Wishes, or Lasting Powers of Attorney are stored with the National Will Archive so they are kept safe for you. I can help you to arrange this with them.

I also strongly advise that the Will is registered with Certainty, the National Will Registration service, and if you store your Will through the National Will Archive they will do this for you automatically and as part of their fee.

Once your Will has been completed you cannot make changes by simply amending it yourself. It needs to be amended formally, either by Codicil or by a new Will. You do not need to make a new Will if anyone named in it simply changes address.

You should review your Will every three to five years and especially if there's been a major change in your life, such as marriage, separation or divorce; the birth or death of family members; or there have been changes to your financial situation such as the growth or sale of your business, receipt of a substantial inheritance or retirement.

Regular reviews will ensure that your Will remains current and in line with changes in the law or tax regime.