59% of people in the UK have not made a will. The top 5 reasons for not doing this are given below but funny thing, none of those reasons are valid. Let’s look at them
1. Making a will is too expensive
It absolutely isn’t. There are lots of law firms and willwriters out there who can provide a simple will for as little as £25, Some charities will do it for free (although they are usually looking for a donation) and you can even do it yourself (this is not recommended in case you get it wrong and it is invalid!)
2. I haven’t got the time to make a will
So how long will a will take? Well unless you are very wealthy and want to leave something to lots of people, probably not long at all. Half an hour with a notebook and pencil and another 20 minutes on the internet should do it.
3. I’m too young to make a will
This one might just (just!) be valid if you have just left school and starting your first job. Time passes by very quickly though and we never know what’s going to happen as recent events have made very clear
4. I don’t have any money.
It’s true to say that very many people don’t think they have any money and ordinary everyday living costs nearly all of many people’s income.
It’s possible that some money might be on its way to you before you died and you did not know about it. A premium bond win, something a relative left to you in their will and you did not know they had even died.
A simple free will could take care of that if it happened.
But “money isn’t everything” and there are an awful lot of things that you could put in a will that might save everyone a lot of time, trouble, and possible arguments after you’ve gone
I would only need a will if there was any money in my bank when I died.
Not so:
Who looks after your minor children?
Who gets your personal effects and mementoes?
Who takes care of your pets?
What sort of funeral do you want?
There is no monetary value you can put on this but it is important that you can take control of it now.
But, you say, I don’t care about any of that. Are you sure? It’s amazing how quickly people can change their minds when knocking at heaven’s door (remember Lord Marchmain going back to believing in God just before he died in Brideshead Revisited?)
At least making a will now will focus your mind and remember, there is nothing to stop you from changing it any time.
So what’s to stop you from doing it? The cost, I hear you say. Well, these days that isn’t an issue since you can even do it “for free”. You must have seen on the television many charities offering to make your will for free but you should remember that they will be looking for a donation.
They will put you on a mailing list forever unless you opt out.
The problem with free charity wills is that they may not allow you to make future changes without charge. You should always remember that if something is offered to you for free then you are the product.
In the old days if you wanted to make a will you went to see a solicitor for a face-to-face visit. I know, I had clients that came to see me to do this but these days, finding the time and the money might be a problem.
If you are reading this, then you are comfortable with being online and these days nothing could be simpler than making a will online for a very small one-off charge that most people can afford.
It comes with helpful information and advice and could cost under £40 which also includes information storage that might be needed on your death.
Time is not an issue because you can deal with this at your own pace over a period of time before finalisation.
We are all now very aware over the last two years how quickly the normal can change with a big effect on our lives. If anything has focused us on our own mortality and the welfare of ourselves and our families Covid has.
That nice extended old age might not happen but at least you can help your loved ones (or even people that need your help that you do not know) easily and cheaply.
Good reasons not to make a will?
Actually, I tried quite hard to think of 5 reasons why you do not need a will and couldn’t think of any more than 4. Can you?