This provides that the Will needs
to be signed by the testator in the
presence of two witnesses. The
witnesses must not benefit from
the Will or would forfeit their gifts.
The Witnesses must then sign the
Will themselves to acknowledge
that they’ve witnessed the
testator sign.
What happens to the ‘stuff’
that you own that aren’t
specifically mentioned in
your Will?
You don’t have to list every single
item that you own in your Will.
Property that belongs to you that
you don’t make specific reference
to can gifted as part of your
residuary estate. Your residue is
the part of an estate that is left
after the payment of charges,
debts, and bequests have been
made.
For lower value gifts you can refer
to this in your letter of wishes but
bear in mind that this is not legally
binding.
Binding a Will
There are no formal rules
governing how a Will should be
bound however a Will writer will
let you know what their guidance
is. When it’s being signed it ought
to be held together but this can be
done by your finger and thumb.
When the Will goes to probate
the probate registrar will look
over the document for signs of
it being tampered with. If the
document has been stapled and
there are additional staple marks
then questions are likely to be
asked as to where the Will has
been dismantled.
The traditional/common ways to
bind a Will include heat sealing or
the use of legal corners. Your Will
writer will bind everything for you.
Digital Assets
When you’re doing your estate
planning you should consider all
the things and platforms that your
family or beneficiaries will need
to cancel, access or may want to
see when you’re not here. Some
providers will require a death
certificate to close a profile and
other platforms like Facebook
can create a memorial page once
you’re no longer around so that
your photos and memories aren’t
forgotten or lost.
Your executors will need access
to things like your PayPal account,
lottery account or any betting
accounts in order to draw in
assets and to close them. You
can store your passwords for
platforms like this in digital vaults
where access can be granted
after your passing.
‘Stuff’ you can’t put in your
Wills
There have been legal disputes
about things that beneficiaries
have wanted to make use of after
death, but the providers have put
a stop to. A prime example of
this would be iTunes accounts.
The terms and conditions within
iTunes essentially grant you a
license to play music after it has
been purchased. This terminates
on death and despite having
spent considerable sums of
money on music this cannot be
gifted in your Will according to
the terms of use set out by Apple.
Writing your Will can seem like
a daunting process and has the
potential to be complicated.
Before you see your Will writer,
list your assets, liabilities, and
Think about what
you would like to see
happen. Explain it to
your Will Writer. They’ll
give you advice.
who you would like your ‘stuff’ to
go to. They’ll help you to put an
estate plan in place.
The Will Writers advice
The price of the documents the Will
writer is going to produce for you
and the information they provide
is down to advice. You may think
that what they propose to charge
seems expensive but bear in mind
that they incur the costs of travel,
document production, insurance
etc. They also charge you for
their time and advice it may seem
more reasonable. You are under
no obligation to proceed after
hearing the pricing if you don’t
wish to and don’t have to proceed
with the plans they propose but
understand that this is what they
do for a living and as such they
should be giving you best advice.
If you choose not to accept
their advice in favour of another
decision they may request that
you sign a document to this
effect. This may limit their liability
further down the line. Also note
that they can only provide advice
based on the information you
provide so you should be as up
front and honest as possible with
your estate planner.
Should I get a free Will?
A Will is very rarely ever likely to
be free. There are schemes that
offer ‘free Wills’ but they be insist
or ask for charitable donations
The Society of Will Writers
17