According to a recent survey, almost 30 million adults in the UK haven’t got round to writing a Will.*
Making a Will has never been easier with so much help and advice available. However, taking time to legally record their wishes still seems to be something the vast majority of people don’t want to think about.
Writing a Will means having to contemplate death and what will happen when we’re no longer here. While we all know death is an inevitable part of life we don’t like thinking about it. There are a number of other reasons why making a Will is not high on people’s agendas.
- Apathy
Writing a Will can always wait for another day can’t it? The trouble with this apathetic approach is that it always gets put off until tomorrow. In other words making a Will never actually happens…and then it’s too late.
Many young people think making a Will is something they can do once they’re a bit older, but statistics from the survey showed around a third of over 55s hadn’t got round to writing a Will. *
- Lack of thought
Just over 1 in 10 people claimed they had never thought about writing a Will according to the research.* Whether this is actually due to lack of thought or deliberately not wanting to think about making a Will and dying isn’t clear, but the end result is the same.
- Lack of understanding
Following on from that, the survey found that approximately 10% of people didn’t bother making a Will* because they assumed their assets would automatically go to the right people when they died.
If you die intestate (dying without a valid Will in place) then the government’s Rules of Intestacy will apply, which would mean your wishes may not be carried out as these rules dictate who will benefit from your estate.
The only way to make sure everything is distributed as you’d like is to speak to someone about writing a Will and getting a legally binding document put in place for when you die.
- Thinking it’s not worthwhile
Another common reason people don’t bother making a Will is because they believe they don’t have anything worthwhile to leave to others. This may be the case at one stage in their lives but circumstances can change and people don’t always decide to write a Will to reflect this.
Writing a Will can mean a lot to those you leave behind. Even if you have no money or bricks and mortar to pass on, there may be items you own which have sentimental value to others.
*source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/8846194/30-million-dont-have-a-will.html
Author Bio: The Co-operative Legal Services provide a fixed price and affordable way for those thinking about writing a Will. Don’t put off making a Will any longer; make sure your wishes will be carried out when you pass away.
Contact:
Dave Smith
Co-operative Group Limited
PR Manager Corporate
Manchester
United Kingdom
Tel: 0161 827 5614
http://www.co-operative.coop/
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