Everyone should do some kind of estate planning, regardless of their situation. That’s the message from an article by Forbes about some of the common reasons people give for failing to do any estate planning.
The news provider noted that one of the most common excuses for failing to do estate planning is that people don’t have any money.
Having a Will is important regardless of your situation. Even if you don’t have lots of money to pass on, you may well have a property, or even modest savings or the money in your bank account. By writing a Will, you’ll know that these assets will go to the people you want them to.
A Will can deal with more than just your financial assets too. For instance, if you have children it can specify who you’d like to care for them in the event of your death. It can also specify whether you’d like to be cremated, buried or any other final wishes you have.
For those who have set up a Will, it’s important to review it regularly to ensure that it is still current. Even if your situation hasn’t changed materially, the law around inheritance might have done, so it’s worth making sure that you’ve planned your finances in the most effective way.
For example, HMRC revealed last month that it collected record levels of inheritance tax in the last tax year. Although Moneywise noted that in many cases it could be avoided with the correct planning.
Also consider that the people you name as executor of your Will may also need to change. If you’d put your parents when you were in your 20s or 30s, you may need to change this if they’ve since passed away, for example.
If you need some bloodline planning advice, contact us today.