WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO MAKE A WILL?

What do I need to do to make a will?

To make your will you need to:

• Decide on who you wish to leave things to. (Your beneficiaries; we need their names, addresses and dates of birth, if minors.)
• Decide on who you wish to take care of your affairs after your death (Your executor or executors; we need their names, addresses and contact details.)
• If you have young children or dependants, decide on who you wish to look after things for them until they are able to take care of themselves. (Your trustees and guardians; often the same as your executors but not necessarily, its entirely up to you.)
• Tell us about any particular circumstances that should be taken into account in making your will (such as whether you are married, have children, have children from a previous relationship, been married before, are in co-habiting non marital relationship, have a civil partner etc.)
• Give us a brief outline of your assets and liabilities (not essential but we will need more detail if you wish advice on things like tax planning etc.)
• Let us take care of the rest.

While it may sound obvious, the first and most important thing you need to do is to actually make a will. And if you made a will ages ago and things have changed in your life in the meantime, you really need to review it to make sure that it suits your current circumstances.

That’s the main thing, don’t think about it: actually do it and do it now. Don’t think about the reasons why you can’t do it right now: “it’s too complicated”; “there’s loads of stuff I need to organize before I can get to that”; “I’ve a million other things to do”; “I don’t know where to start”; “I don’t want to think about dying”; “I can’t afford it right now”; “I don’t have a solicitor”…

It never ceases to amaze us how many people make contact to make a will and can’t get over how easy and quick it was after they have done so. They get such a sense of relief that a task that they have been dreading and putting off for years is done and is actually no big deal.

And if you’ve got young kids, not having a will is practically irresponsible when you consider how simple and easy a thing it is to do and how big a mess you would leave behind if anything happened and you hadn’t made one.

To make a will you really just need to consider who you want to have what you own when you die and who you want to appoint to take care of things on your behalf. It really is that simple.

You do not need to do an audit of everything that you own and have property values and bank balances before you start. It can be helpful to have a brief outline of your assets and liabilities but it is not essential. If you have a substantial estate or wish to make a tax planning will or both, it will be necessary to go through your circumstances in more detail. However, for many people who wish to make a straightforward will leaving everything between their nearest and dearest, this is not of central importance.

You need to consider to whom you wish to leave what you own. In many cases this will decide itself. It may be to your spouse or between your children. You may not have any dependants and may wish to divide things between wider family or friends. Everybody’s circumstances are different and in the end who you wish to benefit and how you wish to do so is something that only you can decide and that only you know best how to do. Of course we’re here to help and assist you in how things can best be done in different circumstances based on our extensive experience of dealing with people in similar circumstances to you.

Then you need to consider who you wish to take care of things for you after you die, that is you need to decide who you appoint as your executor. This is the person who will take care of all the details after your death. Your executor will have control of what you own (called your estate). Your executor will be responsible for paying any debts and things like funeral expenses and then distributing your estate in accordance with the terms of your will. Your executor will probably engage a solicitor to deal with the estate on his or her behalf. They should be someone who is reasonably organized and comfortable in making decisions about practical matters.

If you have young children or dependents who will need someone else to look after them after you die, you will need to appoint trustees. Your trustees and executors will generally be the same people and you should appoint more than one. The trustees will hold your estate in trust for your children until they reach an age appointed by you in your will at which point their shares in the estate will placed in their own names. If you have dependents who are likely to need lifelong care, the trust will remain in place for their lives.

If you have young children you also need to appoint guardians. The guardians can be the same people as the executors and trustees but they do not need to be. The guardians appointed by your will should be the people you would be happy to grant decision-making powers in relation to upbringing and welfare matters for your children. Your guardians will have decision-making powers in relation to issues such as where your children should live and with whom, where they should go to school, decisions in relation to medical treatment etc.

What information do I need?

While a brief outline of your assets and liability is helpful, in many cases it is not essential.

You need to decide on who you wish to appoint as executors. If you have young children or other dependents you need to consider people suitable to act as executors and trustees and you need to appoint guardians.

You will need the names and addresses of each of the executors, trustees or guardians as the case may be.

You should have the names and addresses of everyone you wish to benefit in your will, and their dates of birth, if minors.

We will also need to get full details of your own personal circumstances. If you have had children from different relationships you will require specific provisions in your will to suit your particular circumstances. If you have been married previously and separated or divorced or you are in a non marital relationship or have a civil partner, again your will will have to be tailored to suit your needs.

Effectively, all you have to do is tell us everything about yourself and it is up to us to advise you on how you might go about making the most suitable will to suit your needs.

Do I need to involve anyone else?

No. Your will is confidential to you. You do not need to tell anyone that you have made a will or what you have provided for in your will. You do not need to notify executors that they have been appointed nor do you need their permission. Although, for obvious reasons, you should only choose someone who you think will take on the task and will be able to do so willingly.

You are of course free to tell anyone about any aspect of your will, but you do not have to and your will can be made by you without the involvement of anyone else at all.

Is it expensive?

It usually costs very little to make a will, though it will depend on the complexity of your particular circumstances and your estate.

For instance, in the case of a couple with young children who wish to leave everything to each other, but in the event of them both dying together, to trustees for their children equally until their children become adults, once we have the identity of the trustees and the guardians and the names of all family members involved, we can prepare a straightforward will for a very reasonable fixed cost.

If you have a more substantial estate or require a tax planning will or both there will be more involved in this and we can outline the likely cost once we have gone through the details with you.

Most people have life insurance and house insurance for which they pay regular monthly premiums amounting to substantial sums over the course of many years. Thankfully, many of us never cash in these insurance policies and so all of those premiums end up being paid with no return.

When thought about in this way, a will is the most cost effective insurance you can have. It is one document that you know will ultimately be called into use. There is a small initial set-up cost but no monthly premiums.

Are there any disadvantages to making a will?

We can’t think of any, except perhaps that if you don’t like solicitors you may have to deal with one. But we’re not all that bad!

If I make a will and my circumstances change, what happens?

You change your will. Once you’ve done it once you’ll realize its not such a big deal and your will can be changed at any time during your life as easily as it was first made.

In fact we strongly recommend that you review your will regularly and update it and change it as your circumstances change and in line with changes in the law or the tax regime.

Can I change my mind after I make a will?

Absolutely, your will can be changed by you at any time up to your death.  It will be of absolutely no effect until you die.

How do I revoke an old will if it is no longer appropriate?

Any properly made will will revoke or cancel all earlier wills. Therefore, once you make a new will you revoke any old ones. You don’t have to retrieve your old will in order to revoke it. Therefore, if you made a will years ago but can’t remember what it says or where it is, you don’t have to worry about it.  You can just make a new one that will revoke your old will.

Can I make a living will?

There is no legal provision for living wills in Ireland. We have a system of enduring powers of attorney which deal with the situation where someone loses mental capacity and is no longer able to take decisions about their property and affairs. An enduring power of attorney (EPA) is strongly advisable for someone who fears that they are likely to suffer loss in their ability to look after their own affairs as time goes on.

But an EPA is not a living will in that a person (called your attorney) with power on your behalf under an EPA will not be able to give directions to medical attendants on the medical treatment you would or would not like to have or in relation to end of life matters.

However, it is possible to prepare a living will document setting out your wishes. It will not have binding legal effect but it will mean that everyone will be aware of and can have regard to your wishes in the event of the need arising.

Where do I keep my will after I have made it? Are there any formalities or registration requirements? 

A will must be executed in accordance with strict statutory requirements in order to be valid. That is something we will attend to when the will is being signed by you. After that there are no other formalities or registration requirements. If you keep the will in your possession and it cannot be located after your death, there is a presumption that you destroyed the will with the intention of revoking it. Therefore, it makes sense not to keep your original will and to have it stored in a secure location. We store all of our client’s wills in a secure fire proof safe.