Bequests in Wills

There are five main types of bequests which you may see contained within a Will:

A Residuary Bequest will come into play after all monies have been taken with regard to bills, taxes, expenses and specific bequests. This simply means that you will leave the remaining balance of your Estate, or a certain percentage of it, to an individual or individuals, or organisation.

A Pecuniary Bequest is a little more specific, indicating a gift of a nominated sum of money to someone or again, an organisation. This is often used when the deceased has left a gift to a particular charity in their Will.

A Specific Bequest works best when the testator wishes to leave an item to someone rather than a sum of money. It is then assumed that the beneficiary will either keep the item for its sentimental value, or go on to sell it, raising funds in this way.

A Reversionary Bequest can be extremely risky, and should therefore only be used by a professional Will writer. This type of bequest indicates that an individual or organisation should be the main beneficiary of your Estate, inheriting your property perhaps, or a large sum of money.

And finally, a Contingent Bequest indicates the desire to leave something to someone but only in certain circumstances. A good example would be if you were to leave your property to your first grandchild. If no grandchildren were ever to materialise, however, than it could perhaps go to your first born child, instead. This type of bequest can again be quite complicated, so it is always best to use the services of a reputable Will writer.

What is Probate?

If a person passes away owning assets in excess of £5,000 or if an institution is likely to pay the estate of a deceased person a sum in excess of £5,000 then a Grant of Probate will most likely need to be applied for on the estate. Although some banks will accept a small estates indemnity form instead of a Grant of Probate if the estate of the deceased person is under £15,000. If not Probate or a Letter of Administration will have to be applied for. In other words who ever is dealing with your affairs must apply for a Grant of Probate.

The greatest confusion with probate is that the probate application must be undertaken whether you make a will or not.

If you make a will your executors will apply for what is known as a Grant of Probate if you did not make a will the person who is dealing with your affairs will become your estate administrator and will apply for a Letter of Administration also known as Letters of Administration . The probate forms are the same whether you are applying for Grant of Probate or applying for Letters of Administration.

Head to IWC Ltd to read more about the Probate Process.

Overseas Probate

Moving abroad at a later stage in life is a dream for many people in the UK, however you may want to make sure you have every aspect covered, including Overseas Probate. Here at IWC we can help with Overseas Probate.

As a UK citizen you may need an English Will and a Foreign Will. If you do have assets overseas and in the UK we can help, we can provide you with an overseas willwriting service that integrates with your foreign will.

In addition if you have a loved one who has passed away owning assets in two countries we can also help. The authorities in different countries do not generally use the same terminology as the UK. Here we refer to probate and a grant of probate. Or where there is no will we refer to a letters of administration, however overseas there are several different expressions such as notice of succession. These are tantamount to the same thing, you still have a legal process to go through to claim the assets of a deceased person.

From France to Spain or Dubai to Australia and between we can help with the legal process of probate and estate administration.

For further information on overseas probate, spanish probate or italian probate please contact us free of charge in the UK on 0800 612 6105 alternatively if calling from overseas call us on 0044 208 150 2010

Probate at IWC Ltd

At IWC Ltd we offer a high quality Probate service all over the UK, we are here to help you as loosing someone close to you is never an easy thing to go through.

When you are ready, one of our probate advisors will visit you at home to discuss an outline of the work involved. We provide a complete solution helping you deal with the emotional aspects of losing a loved one whilst we deal with the practical aspects.

If you are unsure what Probate is and why you will need it, let us give you a brief summary.

If a person passes away owning assets in excess of £5,000 or if an institution is likely to pay the estate of a deceased person a sum in excess of £5,000 then a Grant of Probate will most likely need to be applied for on the estate. Although some banks will accept a small estates indemnity form instead of a Grant of Probate if the estate of the deceased person is under £15,000. If not Probate or a Letter of Administration will have to be applied for. In other words who ever is dealing with your affairs must apply for a Grant of Probate.

So if someone close to you has passed away, please take into account the fact that you will most likley have to apply for Probate. Visit IWC-ltd.co.uk for more information on our Probate and other services.

Deed of Variation

A Deed of Variation is a document created after your death that your estate administrators or executors can prepare and sign to alter the distribution of your estate. There are generally two types of Deed of Variation, firstly there is a Deed to alter Intestacy secondly there is a Deed to alter your Will.

If you died intestate (without a will) your estate has to be distributed under the Rules of Intestacy. This could mean that your spouse would be restricted in the amount of inheritance that they could receive.

Often this causes hardship so a Deed of Variation of Intestacy could be created which could alter the amount the spouse would receive.

Some would then say why should I make a will if the problem can be resolved after my death. The answer is quite simple, it costs a lot more to create a deed of variation than to create a will.

There are other more important reasons too, if your estate was to pass under intestacy and there was a need to create a deed of variation, this could not be done if you had children under the age of 18 as the children would become beneficiaries and in order to create a deed of variation you need all of the beneficiaries approval. Children under the age of 18 are not premitted to consent to a deed of variation.

If you are currently in state that you need a Deed of Variation, then you can contact us via our website, iwc-ltd.com.

Online Wills

Have you written your will yet? If not, you need to! With IWC-Ltd its easy! You can write your will online, yes online! We have a handy form that takes about 10 minutes to fill out, and you can have written your will! There is really no reason why you shouldn't, it is so easy!

Just click HERE and you can be on your way to writing your will, it has never been so easy!

Our simple to use form will allow you to appoint executors, guardians and of course include cash & personal gifts. More complex Wills can still be created, please just call us on local rate 0845 600 3527.

Secure payment will be processed through PayPal or Google or if you prefer please contact us and we can arrange for an invoice to be sent to you for payment via cheque.

When using our Online Will service the Wills are dispatched within two weeks, sooner if requested.

Why not give it a try, it is very simple, you'll wonder why you did not do it years ago!

So head over to IWC-Ltd and make your will, online, today!

Funeral Planning

When you make your will you may wish to mention a preference for burial or cremation. You may care to set out details such as religious preferences or requests for donations to charities in lieu of flowers. It is important to consider these matters, otherwise your family will never know what you would have wanted.

However after all of this careful planning did you know your Executors are under no obligation whatsoever to carry out funeral wishes requested in your Will. The only way to guarantee your funeral arrangements, just like anything in life, is to pre-plan.

Of course it is impossible to predict how much your funeral expenses will be, or foresee how far in the future they may arise, it follows that savings or insurance may not be enough. However, your funeral costs will be a first liability on your estate and must be paid well before any other bequests can be distributed.

So if you are in need to plan your funeral, securley and safley - then go to www.iwc-ltd.com and see more on Funeral Planning.