Who’s Who in your Will

Claire Richards • May 24, 2023

One of the things that makes Wills sound a bit scary is the official terms for the people who are involved in your Will

Making a Will can feel a bit intimidating and all the formal wording doesn’t help. One of the things that makes Wills sound a bit scary is the official terms for the people who are involved in your Will, so I thought I’d give you a quick run down of ‘Who’s Who and What They Do’ in your Will

 

First off, if it is your Will, then you are the Testator, the person making the Will or giving a gift.

 

When you die, someone – a person or a professional – will need to organise your estate and pay any bills that are still owed, pay for your funeral (they would get the money back…) and also pay HMRC if you owed them any tax – typically this would be Inheritance Tax and you don’t get this back(!). This is what an Executor does. I always suggest that you choose these carefully as it is not always much of a gift that you are giving them as there can be work to do….but you should also choose a professional carefully too as it can be an expensive activity with the wrong professional.

 

While the Executor is executing…there are also Trustees [of your Estate]. Now in truth they may only be Trustees for a short time, perhaps just months while everything is sorted in terms of tax needing to be paid etc., but if you have a house that needs to be sold then they might be a Trustee for a longer period of time. You might also have appointed very specific Trustees if you are leaving a very specific Trust, e.g. money to be kept safe until children are 21 or 25. These Trustees might be specifically chosen by you as people you trust to look after the money with the children’s best interests at heart. They might also be the Guardians of the children.

 

So, Guardians are those who you entrust the care of your young (under the age of 18) children to. Legally, if your children have a living parent, then they will automatically be the Guardian for the child. While there can be situations where it is not ideal for the surviving parent to be the guardian – this can be an extremely difficult legal area to enforce through the Will or Letter of Wishes.

 

Beneficiaries - very simply these are people who receive a gift (benefit) in your Will – this could be property, possessions, money…or even a pet (make sure you don’t forget the provision for your pets in your Wills). It is also possible to exclude specific people from your Will, but again this needs careful management if that person is someone who might normally expect to receive a gift e.g. a child.

 

Finally, there are Witnesses – these can make-or-break the legality of a Will. If you choose the wrong people or they do not complete the Attestation (witnessing) according to correct procedures then the Will will be invalid. Witnesses are therefore absolutely key people. There must be two and among other requirements they cannot be mentioned as a beneficiary in the Will nor be the spouse of someone who is.

 

If you need help or advice with the Who in your Will or any other part of making a Will please do get in touch.




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