It’s very easy to assume that ‘all my money will go to my spouse’ but without a Will, that may not be the case. More importantly, the provision of a Will means that funds can be distributed much more easily upon death.
Secondly, once you have made a Will, do your Executors know where it is? It doesn’t help if you have put it somewhere safe and secure if nobody can find it after you die. Therefore, ensure that at least one of your Executors knows where it is.
You also need to consider where you hold all your details concerning your assets. In days gone by, people would simply find Policy Documents and Building Society passbooks in drawers, but in these days of online banking and pdf produced documents, are you sure all of your assets can be found easily? Try and store all this information in one safe place, so that people aren’t scrabbling around looking for online documents.
Most importantly, consider who you wish to benefit upon your death. In most instances, it may be your spouse, but it may be more suitable or more tax efficient for it to be your children or grandchildren. It’s so important to take advice concerning these matters. For example, just incorrectly completing a nomination form for your Pension could mean that your beneficiaries could miss out on tax-free income in the future.
2 Unless stated all sources Punter Southall Aspire Survey