Making a will is often something that people do not bother with until they are older or once they have children. However, as soon as you reach 18, you should give some strong considerations to sorting out your first will.

Although many youngsters never think about making a will, it is a good idea to have one in place so in case something happens, loved ones know exactly what you desire.

If you do not make a will

If you happen to die with no will in place, this is called intestate and your estate will pass to family members as per the intestacy rules. This can mean that your family have a lot of extra work to deal with in terms of terminating your affairs and will also mean that anyone outside of your family that you might have wanted to include, will now be excluded.

Families have enough to go through at a time of grief so a loved one having a will and finding a good funeral director are two steps that remove a great deal of pressure at this difficult time. For Funeral Directors Essex, visit a site like https://www.tcribb.co.uk/

Do you have to have any assets to leave?

You might think that you do not have enough assets to leave anything behind, but a will can include the gift of your personal possessions and money. You might actually be worth more than you realize, if for example, your workplace has insurance in place for you.

Over time you will gain more assets, and a will can stay in place until at any time you want to rewrite it, for example following a marriage or having children.

When it is important to have a will?

If you are living with someone as an unmarried couple, then your partner won’t be entitled to anything under the rules of a will. If you want to leave anything to them, you will need to make a will.

If you jointly own a property, which also can pass under the rules of a will, depending on the type of property you have, this could also end up under the rules of intestacy. If you have a property with the same person as a tenant, then they will not automatically inherit your share, it will pass in accordance with the rules of a will, or under the terms of your will.

This means that if you and your partner have bought a house together, they will not always receive a share of it should you die.

Making a will

Once you are 18, you are entitled to make a will. It doesn’t need to be complex; you can just give the solicitor a list of those you want to receive your assets and they will prepare a document to be signed by you and stored until needed.

As you journey through life you might want to update your will, either by adding additional provisions or having a new one made. But it is a good idea to get into the habit of sorting your affairs out early on.

No one knows what the future holds, and by being prepared, you can relax safe in the knowledge that if something does happen to you, money and possessions will go to the people you want to have them.