Monday 4th March marks the beginning of The Association of Lifetime Lawyers: Update Your Will Week, a chance to encourage people of all ages to consider the completion of a detailed and effective will. Whilst we all know that it’s important to outline what you wish to happen to your estate and the items of financial and sentimental value therein – there are a few more unusual elements that it may be worth including provisions for…
Appointment of guardianships
Now for individuals with dependents to consider at the time of drafting, it’s fairly common for the will to outline who should be appointed guardian on the occasion of your death. But did you know you can outline, in a lot more detail, how you wish for your dependents to be cared for in the case of your death. For example:
- You can appoint replacement guardians, if it should so happen that your first named guardian is deceased at the time of your death.
- You can structure your will in such a way that your dependents are provided for financially, before they reach the appropriate age to inherit.
- You can write an accompanying ‘letter of wishes’. Whilst not legally binding, when crafted alongside a will it can provide much more detail and context to support the wishes recorded in your will, including outlining specific sets of circumstances, and what you want to happen in terms of guardianship for your dependents in each set of circumstances.
Separate provisions for pets
To many people – their pets are part of the family. And you can detail exactly what you want to happen to your pets, on the occasion of your death. Pets aren’t treated as dependents, but instead all domesticated animals are treated as personal possessions. This means that you can outline who you want your pet to go to. Failure to provide a provision for your pet may mean you risk it going to someone who isn’t fit to care for it, or in cases where your estate is left with trustees – it will be up to them to decide your pet’s fate. Similarly to guardianships, a detailed letter of wishes is a useful accompaniment, and you can outline your wishes for future pets, as well as those alive at the time of writing your will.
Consider your digital assets
We live in a digital age. With valuable digital assets such as cryptocurrency and NFTs now far more commonplace – your will should outline how these are treated if you should die. The largest problem Executors have with digital assets is usually access. Given that they exist entirely in the online world, you should detail what they are, how they’re accessed and who you want them to go to – as you would for anything else of value. At the very least, you should ensure they are listed, so that those in charge of your estate are aware of their existence. And this doesn’t just stand for financially valuable digital assets. It could also be an online portal where you’ve stored photos and videos, loyalty points, or social media accounts that you want to be treated in a specific way once you die. All of this can be outlined in your will.
As with all our advice when it comes to writing your will – our biggest takeaway is this: please appoint a qualified individual to support on the creation of your will. Whilst there will always be templates available online, there are various laws that directly impact how your will is structured and what you can and cannot do. To ensure that your wishes are carried out as stated – a qualified partner is an absolute must. If you’d like to find out more about drafting a will, whether it’s your first or you require a more up to date version, get in touch with Partner and Head of Private Client, Charlotte Keating on charlottek@prosperitylaw.com. Or, if you’re acting as executor of a will, why not take a look at our guidance for executors.
