Wills

A Will shaped around your life, not an off-the-shelf document 

A properly prepared Will does much more than record who should receive your assets. It can protect the people you care about, appoint guardians for your children, provide for a partner or dependant, manage an inheritance through a trust and help your estate pass on in a considered and tax-efficient way.

At Laurus, we advise on everything from straightforward Wills to complex estate and succession planning. Your solicitor will take the time to understand your family, finances, property, business interests and long-term wishes before recommending the right approach.

Where your plans involve trusts, inheritance tax, jointly owned property, business interests or changes in your family, we can bring together specialists from across Laurus. You receive joined-up advice rather than a Will considered in isolation.

Why make a will?

If you die without a valid Will, the intestacy rules determine who inherits your estate. Those rules may not reflect your wishes or the needs of the people closest to you.

In particular, an unmarried partner does not automatically inherit under the intestacy rules, regardless of how long you have lived together. A Will can also be essential if you have children, stepchildren, dependants, property, business interests or a more complex family structure.

A carefully drafted Will can help you:

• decide who should inherit your money, property and possessions;
• appoint executors to administer your estate;
• nominate guardians to care for children under 18;
• provide for an unmarried partner, stepchildren or other loved ones;
• protect an inheritance for children or vulnerable beneficiaries;
• create trusts to control how and when assets are inherited;
• leave particular possessions or cash gifts to chosen people;
• make gifts to charities;
• set out wishes relating to your funeral;
• plan for inheritance tax 
• be clear about where estate liabilities are paid from; and
• reduce uncertainty and the potential for disagreement after your death.

A Will must meet strict legal requirements to be valid. Professional advice also helps ensure its wording produces the result you intend.

Wills for straightforward estates

Even when your affairs appear simple, your Will needs to be clear, legally valid and appropriate for your circumstances.

We can advise you on the assets covered by your Will, your choice of executors, gifts to beneficiaries and the practical arrangements for signing and witnessing it. We will also identify issues that may not be immediately obvious. For example, how jointly owned property passes on death or what could happen if a beneficiary dies before you.

Our aim is to make the process clear and proportionate while giving you confidence that your Will reflects your wishes.

Complex Wills and estate planning

Some families and estates require more than a standard Will. The document may need to work alongside tax planning, trusts, ownership arrangements, company documents or agreements reached following separation or divorce.

We regularly advise people with:

• significant or varied assets;
• inheritance tax exposure;
• business or partnership interests;
• investment and rental properties;
• assets or beneficiaries in more than one country;
• children from an earlier relationship;
• an unmarried or cohabiting partner;
• vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries;
• concerns about a beneficiary’s ability to manage an inheritance;
• agricultural, digital, literary or unusual assets;
• a wish to protect wealth for future generations; or
• family circumstances that may increase the risk of a claim or dispute.

Your solicitor will consider the wider picture and explain the available options in plain language. Where appropriate, we can coordinate advice across our Legacy, Property, Family and Dispute Resolution teams.

Trusts in Wills

A Will trust can provide greater control over how assets are held, managed and ultimately distributed.

For example, a trust may be appropriate where you wish to protect an inheritance for a child until they reach a chosen age, support a vulnerable beneficiary, provide for a spouse or partner while preserving assets for children, or give trustees flexibility to respond to future circumstances.

Trusts have legal, tax and administrative consequences, so they should be designed around a clear purpose. Our Wills and Trusts specialists work together to ensure the provisions are suitable, practical and properly drafted.

Wills and inheritance tax planning

Your Will is an important part of estate planning, but it is rarely the whole picture. Effective inheritance tax planning may also involve lifetime gifts, trusts, property ownership, pensions, life policies, business assets and the use of available exemptions and reliefs.

We can review your likely estate, explain the potential inheritance tax position and advise on planning options appropriate to you. Tax rules and personal circumstances can change, so our advice is tailored rather than based on a standard formula.

Property and your Will

How a property is owned can affect whether your share passes under your Will.

Jointly owned property may be held as joint tenants or as tenants in common, with different consequences on death. If your plans depend on leaving your share to a particular person or placing it into trust, the ownership arrangements may also need to be reviewed.

Our Legacy and Property lawyers can work together to make sure your Will and property ownership support the same objective. We can also advise on related Declarations of Trust, transfers of equity and the severance of joint tenancies where appropriate.

Wills following marriage, separation or divorce

Changes in a relationship can have significant consequences for your Will.

Marriage or civil partnership will usually revoke an existing Will unless that Will was made in contemplation of the marriage or civil partnership. Divorce or dissolution does not automatically revoke the entire Will, but it can affect provisions concerning a former spouse or civil partner.

If you are marrying, separating, divorcing, entering a new relationship or forming a blended family, it is important to review both your Will and the ownership of your assets. Our Legacy and Family teams can provide coordinated advice, including where financial arrangements or obligations to children and former partners need to be considered.

Appointing executors and guardians

Your executors are responsible for administering your estate and carrying out the instructions in your Will. Their work may include identifying assets, settling liabilities and tax, applying for probate and distributing the estate to your beneficiaries.

Choosing the right people is important. We can explain the role, help you consider suitable appointments and advise whether a professional executor may be appropriate for a complex estate or sensitive family circumstances.

If you have children under 18, your Will can also record whom you would like to appoint as their guardian. We will help you consider how guardianship should work alongside the financial arrangements made for your children.

Updating an existing Will

A Will should change as your life changes. We recommend reviewing it regularly and particularly after:

• marriage or entering a civil partnership;
• separation, divorce or dissolution;
• the birth or adoption of a child;
• the death of an executor or beneficiary;
• buying or selling a property;
• starting, buying or selling a business;
• receiving an inheritance;
• a significant change in your wealth;
• changes in a beneficiary’s circumstances;
• moving abroad or acquiring overseas assets; or
• changes to tax or succession law.

Do not write on or amend a signed Will yourself. Depending on the change required, we can advise whether a new Will or a codicil is appropriate.