Earlier this year the Law Commission published a consultation document in which they reported the process of writing a Will in the UK as “outdated” and “unclear”. Whilst the laws regarding making a Will originate from the Victorian age, the process of writing a legally valid Will can be relatively simple. You do not need to provide any formal identification documents in order to make your Will. Therefore if you do not have a valid passport or driving license then this will not prevent you from making a valid Will.
In order to make a valid Will, you need to be over the age of 18 and be mentally capable of understanding the meaning of a Will as well as the implications of the contents of your Will. In other words, you must have the metal capacity to understand that your Will is a document that formally records your wishes for the distribution of your possessions, or “estate” after you die. You must also have the mental capacity to understand how you have divided your estate, who will benefit by receiving some or all of your estate, and conversely, you must be able to comprehend that there may be persons you have excluded as a beneficiary and therefore will not benefit from your estate after your death.
It is also equally as important that you have written your Will without being under any duress. For example, you should not have been pressured into including certain people to benefit from your estate or pressured to give certain possessions to certain people against your will, and similarly, you should not have been pressured to exclude anyone from inheriting from your estate.
Once your wishes have been formally recorded within a written document, your Will becomes valid through the witnessing of your signature on such documents. You must sign your Will and it must also be signed by two witnesses who are both over the age of 18. Your witnesses must be present when you sign your Will. They must then sign the Will and state their full names and current address on the Will document. It is important to note that your witnesses are not able to inherit from your estate, nor may their spouse or civil partner inherit anything from your estate. Once the signing and witnessing are complete, your Will is now valid.
At Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services, we understand that making a Will may seem like a complicated process because of the nature of the documents. However, we pride ourselves on providing straightforward, simple advice and information regarding your Will. If you would like to discuss making a Will then contact us to arrange a free initial consultation, whether in Shalford or the surrounding areas of Essex.
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