Wills & Living Trusts

Winston Churchill in his later years retained his keen sense of humour. His sharp and witty comments are well documented and no doubt he would have been happy to think that, as well as his greatness as a statesman, he is also remembered as an intelligent and funny man to his dying day. He once said that when he wakes up in the morning he reaches for The Times (England’s No 1 Newspaper) and when he gets to the obituary page,( which records the life and times of those distinguished members of society who merit more than just an announcement), if he is not mentioned he then rises and sets about the business of the day!

How would you like your obituary to read? None of us would like the last thoughts of our family and friends to be laced with irritation and frustration because of the administrative mess you left behind.

We have made it easy for you to record the location of your Will – which is a great start. Many, many Wills that would allow a clear passage through the probate process never see the light of day because nobody has been told where they are. Sometimes intestacy is acceptable, but the more complicated your asset base is the more difficult the estate will be to administer. With a Will for each country where you own real estate and for offshore assets you have done all you can; if not the lack of due care compounds the problem for surviving beneficiaries. Their fond memories of you might fade quickly if there are too many obstacles between them and their inheritance.

As well as the Will, it is always a good idea to have an up-to-date record of what you have and where it is. Sometimes this is included as a separate schedule with the Will and gives the Executors a head start. Inevitably a written hard copy will date if you change your financial arrangements and buy or sell property.

The normal post death reaction of a family to knowing that a Will was made is relief all round that there will be no difficulties about who is in charge and what happens to the Residuary Estate. There is no doubt that when the time comes you will be dispatched with the goodwill of your family and closest friends if you have made a Will.   

You have a choice of how your obituary will be written. You don’t even need to be a well organised person to use the facilities on this web-site; we have done all the thinking for you. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.

What would you like your obituary to say about you? How well organised you are? Or How kind and considerate you have been to leave things as tidy as possible? Being well organised is not the issue here, it is more doing what you can with the resources at your disposal to make life a little easier for those who survive you. That really is what this web-site is all about.