Will you ever get round to making a will?

Here we go again, another lawyer writing about the importance of making a will. One might have thought, after a constant onslaught from my profession around the potential financial and emotional pain of not having one in place, that message might have got through. However, it has become the lawyer’s lament that it hasn’t.

Recent figures released by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) show a staggering 53 per cent of people aged 50-64 still don’t have a will. Perceived wisdom might suggest that this age category (which I am rapidly approaching) should be keenly aware of the importance of planning ahead, so why are so few doing it? It is, after all, around then that people really begin to focus on retirement and other major life issues, but for many a will seems to be a low priority. Maybe because it deals in death, something we in the UK are traditionally not very comfortable discussing.

However, it really is time for those in their fifties and early sixties to wise up and put in place proper estate planning backed, of course, by professional advice. As someone once said: “It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.”

Don't leave your loved ones up the proverbial creek without a will, says Andrew Paterson

The MaPS figures also suggest that around the age of 65, a number of people hit the panic button and start the planning process, as for those at that age and above the number without a will drops to a more respectable 22 per cent.

Complacency is a dangerous characteristic and anyone, no matter their age, who owns a home, has a spouse or partner or children is running the risk of leaving their families with a complicated set of issues if they die intestate (without a will).

A death in the family evokes all kinds of emotions and sadly all too often, one of them is panic. That is increasingly brought about because those left behind suddenly realise they know nothing of the deceased’s financial affairs.

Even if they do, an all-too-common issue revolves around the will – not just the key question of whether they had one, but also a question of where it is stored. It’s all very well having a will, but another plea, with my legal hat on, would be to tell your family and executors where to find it.

Putting a will in place is just the first step and it is vital that its contents and your intentions are kept under review. Modern families can sometimes be complicated, with changing relationships and breakdowns causing issues.

Equally, as a family grows with the addition of children and grandchildren, your wishes may also change. Should that happen, it is important to update your will to ensure that what you want to happen actually takes place.

The assertion that if it’s not written down it doesn’t exist, has never been more relevant and your ability to dictate what happens to your estate disappears with you.

Your choice of executors needs very careful consideration as an extra safeguard and reassurance and can include family members, close friends or a trusted professional adviser. All concerned will act on your wishes and for your beneficiaries.

As the old adage has it, if you don’t have a will or a plan for your estate, then the government has one for you. You have been warned – again!

Andrew Paterson is a Private Client Partner, Murray Beith Murray​