It is not enough simply to write your Will in Braintree or get someone else to write it for you. You also need to ensure that your Will is valid for it to be able to take effect in law so as to be able to provide for your estate’s distribution in keeping with your wishes. Laura Richardson now takes you through some of the requirements for determining whether you have a valid Will in Braintree . . .

Making a Will need not be complicated, but there are certain rules to ensure that your Will is valid, and legally binding. If your Will is invalid, then the law will decide who inherits your estate!

In order to make a Will in Braintree and across Essex, you have three options, writing your own Will, employing a Will writing service or employing a Solicitor to write your Will. Whichever you choose, the same rules must be adhered to. In order for a Will to be valid it should usually be handwritten or typed. Your Will must also be signed by you, alongside two witnesses. You must be of sound mind and understand the implications of your Will and you must not be acting under any duress.

There are further rules regarding the content of your Will. For example, you cannot leave any gift to the persons who witness your Will. Nor can you leave anything to their married partners. Also, you cannot amend your Will once it has been signed and witnessed, you would need to either make a new Will, or amend the Will with the addition of a codicil.

Within your Will you need to make sure that you account for the entirety of your estate, including but not limited to, property, possessions, money and savings, investments, insurances and motor vehicles. Any elements not specifically bequeathed are referred to as the ‘residue’ of the estate, which must be accounted for.

It is also important to consider whether your Will may be challenged by a party not considered within your Will. The most frequent challenges come under the Inheritance (Provision for Family & Dependants) Act 1975. This Act allows a court to vary the distribution of your estate if you fail to make ‘reasonable financial provision’ for a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, child or dependent. In each of these cases there are certain criteria that the claimant must meet in order to be eligible to claim.

In order to secure your peace of mind, and be content in the knowledge that your Will is legally binding, we at Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services would always advise using either a Will writing service like we provide or a Solicitor in order to make your Will in Braintree. A Will can easily become complicated, and when you are gone the last thing that you want your beneficiaries to be worried about is whether your Will is valid or not!

We at Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services are proud to specialise in Will writing, and would be happy to hear from you to discuss your needs and concerns regarding making your valid Will whether in Braintree, Essex or across the UK. Contact us now via www.andrewdouglaswills.co.uk.

If you would like to keep up with our latest posts and advice about estate planning through the regular advice that we provide to our clients in this regard, then please also feel free to –

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ADouglasWills.
Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDouglasWills.
Follow us on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/b/117915389310253337582/+AndrewdouglaswillsCoUk/posts.