A Will is a legal document that allows the testator to name an individual or a group to manage their estate after their death and to distribute their possessions amongst those stated in the Will. A Will is designed to allow the person nominated, who is known as the executor, to obtain a grant of probate which will allow them to have the legal right to carry out the wishes stated in the deceased Will.
A Will has two main functions; first it sets out the deceased's wishes for the distribution of their estate and second, it sets out who should be given the legal right to carry out this important task.
Anyone over 18-years-old, who is considered to have a stable mind can draft their own Will. There is no legal requirement for the document to be drawn up by a solicitor; in fact there is only an essential list of things that a Will should always contain:
• The Will must be signed and dated for it to be deemed as valid
• The testator must name the executor of their wishes in the Will
• The testator will need to clearly identify themselves as the composer of the Will
• The Will needs to contain clear and precise instructions for how these possessions are to be dealt with
• The testator must clearly allude to the amount of money and property that they will be in possession of at the time of their passing
• If there are any children under the age of 18, it should be stated in the Will how they should be cared for and by whom
• The testator must also show that they are in possession of sound mind and that they are not under form of duress when performing the Will writing task
Another benefit of the Will as a legal document is that it allows the executor named in the Will to initiate the probate proceedings.
Probate is the process in which the executor carries out a valuation of the estate and settles any of the deceased outstanding debts or financial obligations. After this has been completed the executor will be able to apply for a grant of probate and begin their duty of distributing the deceased estate according to the wishes set out in the Will.It is possible to contest a Will which can limit or disregard the testator's complete freedom of choice in what happens with their possessions and their estate after they die. There are several ways in which one can contest a Will and potentially have it declared as an invalid legal document.
It is also possible to question the validity of a Will on a number of different grounds. The Will can be declared invalid on technical grounds, such as improper signing and dating; or it can be challenged on the basis that there is evidence of fraud or forgery. If the testator was forced into writing their Will or another person may have influenced them whilst they were writing it, the Will can be challenged as invalid. The testator may not have been in sound mind or old enough when the Will was written for it to be seen as a valid legal document.
One of the most common ways that a Will can be challenged is when a claim is brought forward that suggests that the Will does not make adequate provisions for people who are considered to have been dependent on the deceased. This could be a spouse, child, former partner or anyone that was treated as a ‘child of the family.'
While a person does not have to give their possessions to anyone that does not need them, it is considered a legal requirement to provide for anyone who is considered a dependent as they will be left out in the cold when the testator does pass away.