Living Will Attorney

It appears that only about 50% of people over the age of thirty years of age have written a will. If you haven’t written a will then your estate (property, shares, cash, pets, etc.,) could either end up in the hands of the state or take years to reach the intended beneficiaries. If you die without having made a will, then your estate will be subject to Intestacy rules. To avoid this it is vital that you take the time to write a will.

The most important and basic fact for a will to be a legally binding document is that it needs to be written down. It can be typed, printed from a computer or hand written but it does need to be in written format. All those films and TV shows that use video wills as a dramatic device are misleading. Unless the wishes expressed in a video or audio recording are backed up in a written format then they are not legally enforceable.

You can purchase will forms from most stationary shops or download them from various places on the internet. Once you have written out your desires for your estate you must then sign the will to authenticate that these are your wishes. It is recommended that you use the same signature that you use for you credit cards and bank accounts. This signature will be stored in a variety of places and is therefore easy to check.

Once you have signed your will then it is required in law to have it witnessed by at least two people. Both witnessed must be there to see the will signed or together when you present the will to them. It cannot be witnessed by one or other of the witnesses in isolation from the other. If the will contains more than one page then each individual page requires a number and a signature from you and your witnesses.

The witnesses do not need to see the content of the will but they do need to see your signature. It is the signature that they are witnessing and not the content of the will itself. Both the witnesses need to over the age of eighteen in order for the will to be legally binding.

The witness must include a printed version of their name after they have signed. They must also include their address, occupation and marital status. To avoid the possibility of issues arising after your death it is best to exclude any beneficiaries and their spouses and the executor of the will from acting as witnesses. It is not illegal but it could complicate matters if anyone wished to challenge the will once you have died.

Wills are simple to complete but the more complex tax and trust fund issues should be dealt with by a legal trained professional. It is vitally important that you get the correct advice to ensure that your legacy can be executed in the way in want.

Tony Heywood ©