A presentation on why you should write a will

1. Why you should write a will

2. Benefits of writing a will
• Ensure your final wishes are adhered to
• Ensure your close relatives and friends
receive the gifts you wish them to receive
• Ensure that your estate is not gifted to
someone your do not wish it to be by default
• Ensure your children are properly cared for
• Ensure your property remains the home of
those you wish to live there

3. Benefits of writing a will (cont)
• Ensure tax is paid only where necessary
• Ensure you appoint executors of your choice
• Ensure all intended trustees are included in
your last will and testament

4. If you die without a will in place
If a decedent dies intestate then no executors
will have been appointed. If this is the case,
administrators will be appointed via application
to Probate Registry, unless the total value of the
decedent’s estate is below the current
threshold. Occasionally more than one person
or set of people apply for the position of
administrator. In this case a judge will decide
who has priority via a default legal order of
administration.

5. Can you revoke a will?
A will can be revoked in a number of ways, the first of which is
the execution of a new will. However, a previous will is only
revoked by the new will to the extent that new provisions are
inconsistent with it. Therefore, it is necessary to state in the
new will that it revokes any earlier will. If a foreign will has
also been executed, it should be made clear that the
revocation does not include this. A second way in which a will
can be revoked is through marriage. After marriage, both
partner’s wills are revoked and they must execute new Last
wills. A third way in which a last will can be revoked is through
its destruction. It is important, however, that its destruction is
clearly purposeful and cannot be construed as accidental.

6. Where to get a will
• Free wills month (supported by various
solicitors)
• Net Lawman
(http://www.netlawman.co.uk/dl/last-will-
testament-templates) – Free templates
suitable for simple situations
• Charities, e.g. Cancer Research – in return for
a donation, available to over 55’s.