FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q  I am married and we have two young children – surely if I die without a Will, everything will automatically pass to my spouse, won’t it? A  Not necessarily so – only jointly held assets automatically pass to a spouse. As far as assets held in your sole name are concerned, depending on the size of your Estate, your spouse would not necessarily inherit everything. Also, if you and your spouse die in an accident – who will look after your young children – and the money and assets you leave behind? Shouldn’t it be your choice? Q  Couldn’t I save money by doing it myself with one of those ‘Will’ forms from the stationers? A  Saving the cost of having a professionally drafted Will (and the advice that goes with it) could cause a great deal of unnecessary expense for your family if the Will is not correctly drawn up and signed and witnessed properly. In our experience most ‘Will forms’ bought from stationers sit in a drawer for years without being completed! Q  I’ve heard that if we don’t address the question of IHT mitigation now and one of us dies – it can be dealt with by a post death variation – is this true? A  There are cases where this is possible – but also other cases where it isn’t (eg if there are minor children as beneficiaries, or some beneficiaries of the Will do not agree to vary). It can also be quite costly and of course the legislation relating to Deeds of Variation could change at any time, so it is not advisable to rely on it – much better to plan in your Wills and keep them under regular review. Q  We drew up EPAs some years ago and my husband is now getting quite forgetful in dealing with paperwork etc. Can I now take control of his financial affairs? A  If your husband has lost the capacity to manage his affairs, you will need to get medical evidence of this from his Doctor and you can then take steps to register the EPA with the Court of Protection, assuming you are the appointed Attorney. It would be wise to seek professional advice on the procedure first. Q  We owned our house as tenants in common and my wife has now died. Her Will left her ‘share’ of the house to our son. Does this need to go through ‘Probate’ and what is involved? A  Yes it does. A Grant of Probate will be necessary before your wife’s share of the property can be transferred to your son. It may also be necessary to deal with any other assets she held in her sole name.   Jump to Top of Page