Many of us will be aware of the importance of ensuring that our affairs are in order so that, should the worst happen, our loved ones are able to deal with the difficult process of the estate administration whilst also dealing with the bereavement itself.
However, the professional life of most private client practitioners is quite regularly coloured by examples where disaster was only averted at the last minute (or sadly not at all). Careful thought and planning during your lifetime is therefore key to avoiding significant problems.
We all know that we should have a Will which is professionally written and accurately reflects your instructions. We need enough professional advice and time to make decisions from a position of informed choice. However, it’s not just all about getting the legal documents right. There are important practical steps that we should consider to further assist our loved ones or those we leave behind and to ensure that your wishes are strictly adhered to.
This article provides a degree of entertaining examples and food for thought to ensure that you have considered practical problems that could arise without suitable planning and care.
- What about your funeral?
On more than one occasion, I have had to telephone a vicar or pastor to do last minute alterations to a funeral when some directions have been located at the eleventh hour (including one where the vicar took the call at the graveside!).
It may well be that your funeral wishes are not recorded at all nor is it something that you have discussed with your family and executors. This rather sensitive topic should be discussed for several reasons. Primarily, it is so that your specific wishes are known and can be carried out without uncertainty or debate. It avoids the potential for disagreement amongst family and friends at a period of heightened emotional state following your passing. A failure to do this can have significant and longstanding consequences and can cause irreparable damage to the remaining family unit.
Although placing funeral wishes in a Will is certainly useful, it may well be that your executors do not locate your original Will until some after the passing after which time the funeral perhaps has already been arranged or completed. You should therefore let your executors know what your funeral wishes are and consider having detailed notes kept in a safe place where they know where it is or consider a funeral plan.
The extent of your instructions can also be expanded to cover wakes and celebrations of life.
- Which one is the “ most favourite personal item of…” ?
Never underestimate the sentimental value of items and heirlooms. A failure to adequately deal with a particular broken grandmother clock resulted in a family of 9 siblings falling out to the point where the family were irrevocably damaged, and the clock itself ended up on a bonfire.
Often people would like to give a specific personal item or chattel to certain individuals. However, it is of vital importance that you accurately describe the item to avoid any potential confusion. Terms such as “my favourite watch”, “my best jewellery”, “my gold ring”, etc. can all be easily misinterpreted. It is of vital importance that we do not underestimate the sentimental as well as monetary value of personal items and many items cannot be divided amongst individuals. It is therefore crucial that no ambiguity is left with regard to your instructions in your Will. For the avoidance of doubt consider taking a photo of the item and placing it with your Will. Also avoid contradictory statements to people by making promises of gifts during your life.
- When is a safe space too safe?
£40,000 worth of jewellery was hidden in several hundred old books by the deceased. She told nobody and the books were just about to be recycled when the fortunate discovery was made.
We all have our safe place in our property where certain important documents such as passports and various certificates are kept. There are many a tale of money being kept in mattresses, table legs and under floorboards. Naturally, the purpose of a safe space is to keep an item safe and also, potentially, keep it out of the hands of other people. However, should the worst happen to you, will your executors and significant others know where to find these items? If you have a safety deposit box not in your home, have you left a note that your executors can find to locate it? What about your passwords for online and digital accounts?
You should therefore consider if your safe space is in fact TOO safe. Make arrangements so should the worst happen, your executors won’t miss something vitally important.
- What about your pets?
An individual was gifted a horse that sadly, they could not look after as they resided in a top floor flat of a multistorey apartment in central London. This led to a frantic search for another suitable home.
Many of us have family pets during our lifetime. Legally speaking, a pet counts as a chattel and is effectively to be distributed like any other personal item. However, the emotional ties that we have for our animal companions goes far above that of a mere vase or table. It may well be that your furry family member will need to be quickly relocated to an individual or institution that you know and trust. It may also be required that that pet has some form of financial provision made to look after them for the rest of their natural life. The change in circumstance and the loss of an owner will naturally affect your pet as well. Therefore, you may want to consider what is in your animal’s best interest and who would be the best person to look after them. There are obviously practical consequences to consider due to time, space and ability.
- Who are they and where are they now?
Somewhat unsurprisingly a gift of £100,000 to “my best friends Bill and Jo from the bowling club” resulted in several people claiming the cash.
In your Will, you may have the names of a number of individuals or institutions that you would wish to benefit. Real care needs to be taken to ensure that these individuals can be effectively identified by your executors to ensure that they receive the entitlement from your Will that you would like. You should ensure that their full name is included in your Will and in the event that this is changed for any reason, you would be well advised to have that information updated. Utilising everyday terms such as “my best friend, Bill” may make sense to you as an individual but are highly likely to fail from a legal standpoint and invite challenge. If your executor has only very limited information about an individual, they will be obliged to spend a great deal of time, effort and your estate in locating these people in the future. As such, ensuring that your Will is up to date and the beneficiaries are appropriately identified will significantly increase the likelihood of your executors being able to administer the estate both faster and more effectively.
For more information about future planning please contact our private client team [email protected].
