Research from Royal London suggests that 54% of the UK adult population don’t have a valid Will. A Will may be invalid for a number of reasons. It may not have been signed properly. Your circumstances may have changed meaning some gifts will fail, or it may no longer be fit for purpose.
The Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners (SWW) is the largest self-regulatory body governing the profession of Will Writing and has members throughout the UK but also across the world. Our main responsibility is to ensure that our members have adequate insurance in place and are safe to do business with.
Our advice is to review your Will every three to five years to ensure that your estate planning is up to date, your family and friends are provided for and to give you peace of mind knowing that your affairs are in order.
There are several factors that might encourage you to write or rewrite your Will. The death of a loved one, the birth of a new child, purchasing a house, and getting an inheritance are all reasons which motivate people to write their Will and it is a very important legal document.
The document itself allows you to leave assets to your loved ones, particularly your partner if you’re unmarried, allows you to choose guardians for your minor children, appoint executors who you trust to handle your estate, make gifts to charity and to ringfence assets where you suspect the asset will be mishandled or squandered.
You can add your funeral wishes to your Will and remove the stress for your family at what will be a very difficult time.
Writing your Will can be a complex process to speak to a member of the SWW for support or information. SWW members are required to adhere to our Code of Practice, keep their knowledge up to date and must provide us with proof of professional indemnity insurance on an annual basis.
You should ask to see the SWW member’s ID card, ask for their membership number and check them out on our website. Alternatively, give us a call and we will check our system to see whether they are a member.
