A Guide to Leaving an Amazing Gift Guide to Leaving an Amazing Gift January 2013

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1 Reg. Charity No: A Guide to Leaving an Amazing Gift

2 A Guide to Making a Will Introduction This booklet is a general publication giving information about the issues you should consider before making a Will and whether or not to use the services of a solicitor to ensure your wishes are carried out. There are suggestions about selecting executors, finding professional help with writing a will and the consequences which may arise if you don t make a Will. The information given in this Booklet is applicable in England. Different rules may apply in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. Making your Will You can make your own Will, and packs to help you do this are available from stationery shops. However, unless you have a very simple estate it is generally advisable to use a solicitor. Otherwise, after your death, if there is a problem with the drafting or formalities of the Will it may prevent your wishes from being carried out and cause difficulties for those left to sort out your estate. Include in your Will There are a number of issues to think about before you make your Will. So, even if you use a solicitor, or a professional Will-writing service, it will be helpful to have given some thought to these things before attending an appointment. Your estate Your estate is made up of everything you own at the time of your death, including your money, possessions, property and investments. All debts, including your funeral expenses, have to be paid before your estate can be distributed to your beneficiaries (people you are leaving things to). All jointly owned property also needs to be taken into account. Jointly held property can either be held as joint tenants or tenants in common. If it is held a joint tenancy on your death your share will automatically pass to the other joint owner. Your share cannot be left to someone else in your Will. Property held under a tenancy in common can be left to someone else who will then become tenants in common with the other person on your death. In the case of joint bank accounts, money in a joint account automatically passes to the other account holder on your death, so it cannot be left to someone else in your Will.

3 Please note that if you leave property to a spouse and the marriage is subsequently dissolved or annulled, the gift will fail unless the Will specifically provides that it can be left to them. If the Will doesn t cover this the property will be transferred into the residuary estate (i.e. properties and goods that are not specifically distributed to anyone). Legacies Thought must be given to not only who you want to benefit from your Will but also the most effective way of leaving a legacy; whether these are individual people or an organisation such as a charity. You need to consider that your circumstances may change significantly by the time of your death. You need to make sure your Will is drafted in a way that does not present problems if, maybe a beneficiary dies before you, or the value of your estate is considerable different than at the time you make your Will. One way to address this is to name a residuary beneficiary. This is a person or charity designated to receive the balance of your estate once any specific gifts have been made. This would prevent a partial intestacy, (see below for information on intestacy). Ensure that if you intend are leaving specific possessions to specific individuals, make sure you give sufficient and accurate details to ensure that the individual and possessions can be easily identified. For example, beneficiaries should be identified by their full names and their relationship to you specified. Executors The Will should name one or more executors: to deal with your estate after your death. The executors may be relatives or friends, or a professional such as a solicitor. Where children under 21 are concerned you should always appoint not less than two executors. Choose an executor you can trust to carry out your wishes in accordance with the Will. Executors can be beneficiaries under the Will and often people appoint their spouse, civil partner or children as executors. Please check with your proposed executors that they are willing to take on this role before naming them in your Will. The role of executor can be arduous and involve significant responsibility. This is one of the benefits of naming more than one executor as it may be easier for the executors if there is more than one person to share the work and the responsibility. It would also alleviate any problems if one of the executors dies before you. On your death the executors will have to deal with any day-today administration of your estate before it can be distributed to beneficiaries. Executors are entitled to claim legitimate expenses from the estate which they incur when carrying out their duties. A large or complex estate would benefit from the appointment of a professional executor such as a solicitor or accountant. Professional executors will charge for the work they do and these costs will have to be met from your estate. You can ask for details of the likely costs before appointing the executor.

4 As a last resort the Public Trustee (an independent public body appointed by the Lord Chancellor) can act as an executor on your behalf. This may be appropriate should you have no one else able and willing to act as executor or where a beneficiary is an incapacitated adult or dependent child likely to outlive both parents and other close relatives. You should contact the Office of the Public Trustee for more information before appointing them as executor (see list of other useful organisations). Making a valid Will Certain requirements must be met for a Will to be valid: it must be in writing it must be signed and witnessed by two independent people you must be over 18 when you make it you must have the mental capacity to make the Will and understand the effect it will have you must not have made it as a result of pressure from someone else. you must not have made any gifts in the Will based on fraud. The beginning of the Will should state that this Will revokes all previous versions and any other versions should be destroyed to avoid any confusion. Signing the Will You must sign the Will, in front of two witnesses. But there are some exceptions, for example the law allows for the Will to be signed on your behalf, as long as you are in the room and it is signed at your direction. This will usually happen if you are either, blind, illiterate, incapacitated or too unwell to sign the Will yourself. The law allows this for the reason, that a person being unable to sign a Will does not mean that they do not have the mental capacity to sign the Will and it reflects your wishes. The Will be invalidated if the person making it does not have the mental capacity to make the Will. Any Will signed on your behalf must contain a clause, stating that you understood the contents of the Will, before it was signed (known as an attestation clause). Where you are suffering from a serious illness or dementia, it is always advisable that a statement from a doctor is obtained at the time the Will is signed, certifying that you understood the nature of what you signed. Witnessing the will Your signature of the Will must be witnessed by two people over the age of 18 who are not the executors of the Will. Remember that any person witnessing a Will loses all benefits that the Will would have given them. Witnesses must be present in the same room at all times when you sign the Will and they must sign it in your presence. If anything has been

5 left to the witnesses the rest of the Will is still valid, but the witness will lose their entitlement to whatever you had intended to leave them. The Will should include an attestation clause shown below confirming it was signed in their presence: Attestation SIGNED by the said XYZ (insert name) as and for his/her last Will and Testament in the presence of us both being present at the same time who at his/her request and in his/her presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses This should then be signed by both witnesses using the following format: Signature: Name:. Address:. Occupation:.. Many Wills fail because they are incorrectly finished Using a solicitor Unless your Will is going to be very simple it is advisable to consult a solicitor. This is especially recommended if you intend to leave significant sums to people other than those who might expect to inherit, e.g. husband, wife or children; or if you own foreign property or your own business. The cost of making a Will varies according to its complexity. Ask for information about the cost at the beginning of the process. Other professional will-writing services Another option for professional assistance is to use a will-writing service. This is provided by people who are not qualified solicitors so can be cheaper than solicitors. It must be borne in mind that they are not regulated in the way that solicitors are and may have different levels of skills and experience. Check with them how they will securely store you Will and any costs attached to this service and that hat they have insurance that would cover the cost of any losses resulting from mistakes in the drafting of your Will. Find out what will happen to your Will if the company goes out of business as this can cause problems if the Will cannot be found. If you do decide to store your Will ensure you inform your executor, family and friends of the full details of the company and their storage arrangements.

6 Changing your Will Codicils (supplements to a Will) can be added to an existing Will for minor changes at any time. They must be signed and witnessed in the same way as the Will, but it is not necessary to use the original Will s witnesses. If there are any substantial changes then a new Will revoking the former one should be drawn up. Never make alterations on the original document: either add a codicil or make a new Will. Your Will becomes invalid if you marry, remarry or enter into a civil partnership unless the Will was made in contemplation of marriage or partnership and the Will refers to this. You should make a new Will in these circumstances. If you divorce it does not automatically invalidate your Will but any reference to your former spouse or civil partner (such as appointing them as executor or naming them as a beneficiary) will not be effective. Therefore is would usually be recommended to change your Will. Where to keep your Will You can keep your Will at home or with a solicitor or a bank. You can also lodge it with the Probate Registry for a fee of 15 charged when the Will is deposited. A solicitor will normally keep the original document and give you a copy; it is advisable to give a copy to your executor. If you wish to make specific arrangements for your funeral write a letter to your executor explaining how you would like it conducted, keep this letter with your Will. This information can be included in the Will, but ensure the people making your funeral arrangement are aware of your wishes. Do not attach any separate documents to the Will itself with paperclips or staples as they could leave marks on the Will which may look as if a document has been lost and raise questions about the validity of the Will. Taxes on your death Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable if your taxable estate is worth more than the IHT threshold. For the 2012/13 financial year the IHT threshold is 325,000. The majority of estates do not reach this level meaning that IHT would not be payable. Parts of your estate left to a spouse or civil partner is taken off the value of your estate before IHT is calculated providing you are both permanently resident in the United Kingdom. Certain gifts, such as any gifts to charities also attract exemption. The value of non-exempt gifts made during the previous seven years may be taken into account in whole or in part depending on how recently the gift was made. This is so that people cannot avoid paying IHT by giving away their estate before they die.

7 The leaders of the three main political parties have backed a campaign encouraging people to leave at least 10% of their estates to charity in their Wills. For anyone who leaves at least 10% of their estate to charity will see a reduction in the rate of IHT from 40% to 36%. Further information about Inheritance Tax can be found in the Customer guide to Inheritance Tax on the HM Revenue and Customs website or by calling the Probate and Inheritance Tax helpline on What happens if you don t make a Will? If you die without having made a Will there will be intestacy. As a result your property will be divided according to the Administration of Estates Act which may result in your property not going to the people you wanted it to. The Administration of Estates Act is applied as follows: If you are married or have a civil partner and have children, your spouse or civil partner will be entitled to at least the first 250,000 of the estate and all of your personal possessions. Surviving children or grandchildren will able to claim some of the estate if it exceeds 250,000. If you are married or have a civil partner and do not have children, your spouse or civil partner will be entitled to at least the first 450,000 and all the personal possessions. Anything else is divided between your spouse or civil partner and your other surviving relatives. If you are not married or do not have a civil partner, your estate will go to any relatives according to a certain order. So, if you have children your estate goes to them; if not, it goes to your parents; if you have no surviving parents it goes to any brothers or sisters; and so on. If you do not have any surviving relatives, your estate will go to the Crown. Another reason for making a Will is that you can choose the most suitable person to be your executor and administer the estate. If you do not do this it will be your closest relative (according to a set order) who has the responsibility of collecting in and distributing your estate according to the above rules. See our separate document for a Family Relationship Chart which shows the distribution of intestate estates Special types of Wills Joint wills A joint Will is a single Will made by two different people (usually spouses), giving instructions as to how their joint properties are to be distributed. Joint Wills can be revoked

8 by any of the parties, anytime before their death and are valid as long as they follow the format of standard Wills described above. Mutual wills Mutual Wills are two or more Wills made by two or more different people, giving instructions on how their properties are to be distributed for each other s benefit. This means is that A and B agree to make two different Wills, in which they instruct that their property is distributed for the benefit of the other on the death of one. Mutual Wills are irrevocable, which means that once made they cannot be revoked after the death of one party. They can however be revoked by all parties agreeing this before the death of any of them. However if the first person to die revokes the Will before death, the other person is allowed to revoke the other Will. It is highly advisable to get comprehensive legal advice, before the preparation of a mutual Will, because it is a very technical document, with far-reaching implications- if improperly drafted. Why Leave A Legacy to The Paget s Association? Since 1973 the Paget s Association has been a lifeline to people with Paget s disease, their families and carers, offering information, giving support and funding research. Much of this work has been funded by people who have left legacies to the Association which have made a real and lasting difference. Gifts in Wills form the foundation of charities in the UK this is especially true for the Paget s Association. Like many other charities we depend on legacies and without them we would not be able to support people with Paget s disease. It is a common myth that only the rich and famous leave money to charity when they die. This couldn t be further from the truth. The reality is that without the gifts left in Wills by people like you many charities like the Paget s Association which we know and support today wouldn t exist. Thankfully 74% of the UK population support charities and when asked 35% of people say they would happily leave a gift in their Will once family and friends have been provided for. The problem is only 7% actually do. That is why if we all leave some money in our Wills for charity as well as our family, we can make a huge difference. In fact just a 4% change in behaviour would generate an additional 1 billion for good causes in the UK.

9 So you don t have to be rich and famous to make a contribution that can make a difference. We can all do something amazing for the world just by remembering our favourite charity (hopefully the Paget s Association) when writing a Will. Who benefits if you leave a legacy to the Paget s Association? By including the Association in your Will, you can ensure we will be there for people with Paget s disease in the future, providing practical advice, ongoing support and offering a voice for those affected by the condition. The Association is the only charity which only provides help for people with Paget s disease and receives no government of statutory support to help provide its services. Leaving a legacy to the Association costs you nothing in your lifetime and could help reduce the Inheritance Tax burden on your loved ones How your legacy can make a difference. You can do something amazing. Your legacy can change the future for people with Paget s disease throughout the UK. Previous legacies have ensured that we have a sound financial base from which we can offer grants to research into all aspects of Paget s disease. Legacies come in all sizes big or small, each one is valued and each one is put to work. For example a legacy of 1,500 would enable us to print one edition of the Newsletter our members find so valuable. A legacy of 6,000 would cover the printing costs of the four editions we produce each year. Leaving 12,000 to the Association would enable us to mount a media campaign to raise awareness about Paget s disease. Think how many people with Paget s disease who are receiving no help at all would benefit from finding out about our work and being directed to the right place for treatment. The Association has always benefited from the generosity of its members, allowing us to help other people with the condition. The kindness of people remembering us in their Wills has enabled us to fund the post of our Healthcare & Education Officer on a permanent basis. This provides a professional and comprehensive help-line service to members and health professionals offering valuable advice and support. We know how important it is that your legacy is spent wisely and well. You can be sure that by entrusting us with your legacy, you will make a genuine and positive difference to people with Paget s disease. Thank you for your support of the Association.

10 Some Useful Organisations Citizens Advice Bureau National network of free advice centres. Depending on available resources may offer benefits check and help filling forms. They can provide you with a list of local solicitors Tel: (for local contact details only not telephone advice) Website: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) The Customer guide to Inheritance Tax is available on the HM Revenue and Customs website at Probate and Inheritance Tax helpline: Institute of Professional Will Writers A self-regulating professional body regulating and promoting the profession of Will writing: all its members have professional indemnity insurance for each will written and have to comply with the IPW Code of Practice. Tel: Website: Law Society The Law Society is the representative body for solicitors in England and Wales. It contains a searchable database to help you find a solicitor; advice on what to expect; and guides to common legal problems and what to do if things go wrong. Tel: (provided by the Solicitors Regulation Authority) Website: Offices of Court Funds, Official Solicitor and Public Trustee The Office of Court Funds, Official Solicitor and Public Trustee was created on the 1 April 2007, when the Court Funds Office merged with the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee. Tel: Website: Probate Registry Part of the Family Division of the High Court, this deals with non-contentious probate business (where there is no dispute about the validity of a will or entitlement to take a grant), and issues grants of representation, which appoint people known as personal representatives to administer the deceased person s estate. The website page below gives details of storing a will for safekeeping. Tel: Website: Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) SFE is a national organisation of lawyers providing and promoting independent legal advice for older and vulnerable people, their family and carers. You can use them to find a solicitor specialising in wills and probate. Tel: Website:

11 Disclaimer and copyright information This booklet has been prepared by the Paget s Association and contains general advice only which we hope will be of use to you. Nothing in this booklet should be construed as the giving of specific advice and it should not be relied on as a basis for any decision or action. The Paget s Association does not accept any liability arising from its use. We aim to ensure the information is as up to date and accurate as possible, but please be aware that certain areas are subject to change from time to time. Please note that the inclusion of named agencies, companies, products, services or publications in this booklet does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement by the Paget s Association. We are happy to produce this booklet free of charge for members of the Association. If you have found the information useful maybe you would consider making a small donation to the Paget s Association to cover the production and postage costs.

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