Have you Written a Will?

Most of us prefer not to dwell on the inevitability of our own death.  Being genetically programmed to feel immortal, we’ll happily postpone planning for the inevitable if there’s something more cheerful on the agenda.

With admirable pragmatism, the Government is happy to encourage our collective procrastination.  Vast amounts of Inheritance Tax (IHT) come the Exchequer’s way from the £50 billion each year that passes from one generation to the next, roughly the same as all the money that passes through Tesco’s tills in a year’s trading.

Around a third of those who die leaving estates that become eligible for IHT won’t have made any attempt to mitigate the situation by taking professional advice and making a Will.  After a lifetime of paying tax, they could be major contributors to the public purse after death.

In this respect they will be behaving like the less well-off.  The majority of adults don’t have a Will in place*.  There’s an obvious correlation with age. The largest potentially intestate group is comprised of young, single adults of both sexes, of whom 88% have not made a Will.  Cohabitants follow closely behind; some 83% have no Will. 

Separated couples are next on the Chancellor’s ‘Don’t get well soon’ card list, at 72%. 

It’s only when we get to the married and divorced sections of society that this percentage drops to 55%.  Oddly, widows are the most circumspect group; only 32% of them have no Will.  Perhaps age, the trauma of a marital split or death of their spouse has concentrated their minds; perhaps it’s because these categories are more likely to have come within the ambit of professional advisors who’ll have pointed out the error of their ways.

Whatever the reason, there’s a clear indication that we are more inclined to start making preparations for the disposal of our property following our death as we get (a) old enough to have accumulate some material assets (b) more likely to have offspring or dependents and (c) closer to the actual event.

The politically charged and emotive Thatcherite ideal of ‘wealth cascading down the generations’ should always have the proviso, ‘After IHT, it’s more likely to be a spluttering flow than a cascade.’

Notwithstanding this backdrop of denial, apathy and youthful indifference, professionals in a position to advise us are adamant we should all make a Will.  These are not, they insist, matters that should be left to the vagaries of dated laws, inexperienced executors and chance. Very few of us know exactly when our time will come.  We should care about how the proceeds of our lifetime’s efforts are divided.

This is an essentially altruistic stance, of course.  In death, we will be beyond caring.  However, most would agree that the satisfaction of knowing, to some extent, how events will pan out after we’ve gone is worth striving toward in the here-and-now. 

There is also the more complex matter of exercising some control over events in the present by announcing your intentions for the future.  It depends on your approach to sycophancy, gold-digging and patronage.  Not everyone wants their relatives and connections to know the contents of their Will; others find it a most useful way of manipulating family support network in their declining years.  It is an area famously fraught with the potential for family disagreements.  There is a general consensus of opinion to that it’s a good idea to make your final financial plans while you’re still in full possession of your mental faculties.

So what next? 

There is a certain amount of fun to be had from keeping the taxman’s hands off a slice of cash that rightfully belongs to our kith and kin, or a favoured charity. That said, how can we attend to the depressing administrative chore of Will-making without slumping into morbid gloom or missing something entertaining on TV - or a bargain on ebay?

On the Internet perhaps? 

Why not try Totally Free Wills (www.totallyfreewills.co.uk) who have hit upon an ingenious way of reducing the cost, time and emotional investment of the Will-making process.  The company operates in a secure Internet environment, so the information you provide will be treated as highly confidential.  You simply log-on, tick the boxes and get prompted and guided through the legal morass of making a will. It can take as little as half-an-hour.

Once you’ve completed the online Will document a local solicitor from the Totally Free Wills panel will cast an eye over it to make sure that it conforms to legal requirements, then store it safely until it’s (how shall we put this delicately…) needed. However, if your affairs are more complex such as eligible for IHT or some of your assets are outside the jurisdiction of British courts a fee may be chargeable.

* Source; National Consumer Council, September 2007