Leaving Gifts In Your Will Info 2020 Alex Truesdale Wills In Cobham Surrey

Leaving Gifts in your Will

Leaving gifts in your Will. The heart of any Will: what to gift, when to gift and the types of gifts it is possible to make.

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited: A professional Will writing service based in Cobham and serving clients throughout Guildford, Kent, Hampshire and the South West region. 

Call: 07887 946557 with any questions you may have on leaving gifts in your Will or to discuss your wider estate planning needs.

Gifting in your Will

Leaving gifts in your Will. The heart of any Will: what to gift, when to gift and the types of gifts it is possible to make.

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited: A professional Will writing service based in Cobham and serving clients throughout Guildford, Kent, Hampshire and the South West region. 

Call: 07887 946557 with any questions you may have on leaving gifts in your Will or to discuss your wider estate planning needs.

Making a Will, at its simplest, involves deciding “who gets what”. There are a number of different issues to consider depending on the type of gift, the recipient, and the conditions triggering such a gift:

What To Gift In Your Will

In your Will, you can gift “chattels” (your personal effects), digital assets (photos, videos, crypto currency, NFTs), real property (bricks and mortar), money and even your pets. Each type of gift carries with it a number of issues:-

Chattels

  • Keepsake gifts can be extraordinarily emotive and contentious; consider sounding out any particular emotional attachments to specific items amongst your beneficiaries.
  • If beneficiaries are going to disagree, try to set ground rules by, for example, giving rights of selection according to an explicit “pecking order”, or by leaving the final say to your trustees.
  • Collections or matched sets may be far more valuable if kept together.

Money

  • Beware “demonstrative legacies” – leaving a beneficiary the funds you have invested in “Account XYZ” may be an empty gift if those funds have been moved to “Account ABC” by the time of your death.
  • Consider index-linking legacies to preserve their value in real terms.

Real Property 

  • Ensure that you are able freely to gift jointly held real property interests. “Joint tenants” inherit automatically by right of survivorship but “tenants in common” may gift their property shares to whomever they wish.
  • You may also need to consider how any outstanding mortgage is to be discharged.

Pets 

Although pet owners will disagree, as far as Wills are concerned a pet will be treated as if it is a “chattel” – a personal possession, to be dealt with in the same way as an antique, artwork or jewellery. Because pets are legally viewed as property, they cannot own property of their own and cannot be the donees of gifts made by Will or otherwise.

However, you can appoint a “guardian” for each pet by, effectively, leaving a specified pet (or indeed any pet you happen to own at your death) to that guardian’s care. Just as with minor children, including a substitute guardian is a good idea. You can choose anyone over 18 to look after your pet, but you will need to ask them first to ensure that they agree. Try to find the best fit between guardian and pet – do they need outside access or a garden; long walks or a gentle owner; what if there are other pets and children with whom the pet must co-exist? If there is no one in your immediate family and friendship circle there are charities that specialise in pet care and rehoming; it would be usual to leave them a pecuniary legacy in your Will as well, to help them continue their work.

The cost of keeping many pets can be fairly minimal, particularly for an existing animal lover, but the same cannot be said for larger animals – such as horses who have a lifespan of up to 30 years. In these circumstances it is not uncommon for ongoing financial provision to be discussed. You can leave the guardian money for the care and maintenance of your pet directly, although you would have no control over whether that money is actually used for that purpose. Alternatively, you can establish a “pet trust” in your Will to do so, accompanied by a Letter of Wishes to set out how you would like your pet to be cared for and what to do with any remaining funds when your pet is also no longer around.

Digital Assets  

  • Technology has pervaded every aspect of our lives. Social media, online banking, media streaming and storage and blockchain technology and the rise of cryptocurrencies have transformed the digital landscape over the past two decades, but are unlikely to have influenced how most of our Wills are drafted.
  • A Law Society survey in 2020 found that only 26% of respondents knew how their digital assets would be dealt with on their death and that 93% had not addressed digital assets in their Will.

Types of Digital Assets

There are broadly, three classes of digital assets:

  1. Digital assets with financial value – such as online banking accounts, cryptocurrencies (Ethereum, Bitcoin etc), Non-fungible Tokens and online shopping accounts / Paypal;
  2. Digital assets with social value – for example Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and TikTok – some of which are themselves of financial value given the number of followers/ influence they have attracted; and
  3. Digital assets with sentimental value – typically online photos, videos and music including accounts with Google, iCloud, Flickr and YouTube.

Prudent digital estate administration should involve the following tasks:

  1. Using your Will to appoint executors in overall charge of your estate, either by including a designated “digital executor” or by encouraging them to consult with a nominated individual comfortable in the digital domain.
  2. Creating – and regularly updating – a digital directory containing details of your social media accounts, digital assets and (in a secure way) the means to access them legitimately.
  3. Safeguarding digital asset passwords: you should never include them in your Will as it will become a public document once probate is granted, or leave them in an unencrypted document on your computer which could be hacked. Writing your passwords down is often a breach of the terms and conditions of the provider and your internet service provider. You should consider leaving instructions to retrieve them (physically or via a third party password protector, digital vault or a physical device) in a Letter of Wishes stored with your Will.
  4. Backing up digital assets of sentimental value such as photographs, videos and emails / messages to hard copy or remotely accessible storage, to ensure that your family can continue to view treasured memories.
  5. Leaving clear instructions to your executors as to how to deal with each aspect of your online life.
  6. Ask for our digital LifeFile.

Need help getting started on thinking about the future?

Send an online enquiry or email info@alextruesdalewills.com for expert advice and guidance on your Will writing and estate planning needs.

When To Gift In Your Will

Residue: what is left after debts, tax and other gifts have been paid.

  • Ensure that gifts of percentages of your residuary estate add up to 100!
  • Ensure that a partial intestacy cannot arise by specifying what happens if your first choice/s of residuary beneficiary fails to survive you.

When should beneficiaries receive a gift?

  • Minors (children under 18) cannot hold property in their own right, although in some circumstances their parents or guardians can accept gifts on their behalf.
  • For significant gifts, it might be advisable to add an “age contingency” meaning that the beneficiary has to attain a certain age before inheriting.
  • Avoid trying to attach binding conditions as to the use of gifts. Your wishes could generate unintended disputes and may not be practical when the time comes. If you are concerned as to the misuse of significant sums, a discretionary trust may be the better solution.

First and second death gifts

If you are in a relationship and have created a pair of “mirror Wills” in the same terms, leaving everything to each other and then to children or other beneficiaries, then you can decide whether to leave gifts to others if you are the first, or the second, to die.

  • First death gifts will be taxable and will count towards your £325,000 nil rate band, leaving less to carry over to any spouse or civil partner’s estate.
  • Making a first death gift ensures that the gift reaches its intended recipient – many Wills leave everything to the surviving spouse, registered civil partner or cohabitee and there is no guarantee that they will then respect your ultimate wishes in their own Will, which can be revoked or amended after your death.
  • First death gifts might “double-up” if you and your spouse or partner both make them to the same individual – check this is your intention.
  • “Second death gifts” may never come to pass if you fail to survive your partner or spouse.
Intestacy Rules 2020, Alex Truesdale, Solicitor based in Cobham Surrey

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited offers a professional Will drafting and estate planning service covering the Surrey, Kent, Greater London areas, the South Coast of England and Wales.

Call us on 07887 946557 or request a call back here.

Making Gifts in Letters of Wishes

Outside of a Will, a Letter of Wishes can provide confidential guidance on gifting for your executors and trustees to assist them in interpreting your personal wishes. A testator can change this guidance without the need to change the Will. For more information visit our Letters of Wishes page.

Client Testimonials

“Alex arranged an appointment for my husband and I to update our Wills in view of a change in family circumstances.  She was organised, efficient and extremely sensitive to our needs. We discussed advance directives and lasting powers of attorney in-depth – things we had only considered in vague terms previously but realised how intelligent it was to sort them out early.

“I cannot fault Alex’s professionalism and caring attitude, and will be recommending her service to my friends and colleagues.”

SM, September 2019

“We would like to thank you for your professional help in getting us to a point of having signed Wills after many years of procrastination. Not only that your advice gave us the impetus to arrange a Civil Partnership and we now feel that we have got at least some of our affairs in order in these worrying times.”

KB, September 2020

“Very clear explanation of what the options and implications were for us. It was also good to have someone focused on the end result we had to get to, as it’s very easy on your own to leave to another day.”

EM, September 2018

“After many years putting off writing my Will I finally entrusted Alex Truesdale with the task of compiling it for me and my family. My main wish was to pass my estate on to my son, and have guardianship put in place, should the worst happen before he came of age. Alex guided us through the difficult and emotional process with the utmost professionalism and put us at ease from the outset. She was able to address all of the issues we put to her and brought up many we had not considered regarding our estate.

“As we were about to travel abroad, we were also on a very tight schedule for the wills to be drawn up and signed. Alex went above and beyond to make sure everything was in place for us in the allotted time, even to the point of being personally on hand to instruct ourselves and our witnesses during the signing procedure.

“In using Alex Truesdale Wills, we now feel totally secure if the worst should happen our affairs are in order. We will be continuing to draw on her knowledge as and when our wills need updating in the future and are delighted to recommend her first class service.”

BW, May 2018

“Thank you again for helping me sort out all our Wills and the funeral plan for my godmother. I cannot believe how timely that was bearing in mind today’s situation. Only good news from her care home so far, but to know that resources are there to help the staff directly if the worst happens certainly gives me peace of mind.”

SC , May 2020

“I have known Alex Truesdale for over 6 years, during which time she prepared Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney for my sisters and assisted us in the administration of my sister Elizabeth’s estate after her death in 2018.  I testify to her attention to detail, her knowledge and experience in her work and the warmth of her communications whether by letter, by telephone or in person.  She responds to us quickly and we have full confidence in what she does on our behalf and on her advice on various aspects. She has a good network of people when particular advice is needed beyond her field of expertise or training.  She became a friend to us as a family.  I gladly recommend her services to others.”  

KH, July 2020

“The support Alex gave me and my husband after our Wills and LPAs were finalised was second to none especially as he was diagnosed with a terminal illness a few months later. This ongoing support, advice and bringing in other specialists to assist was outstanding and I felt that we were in very good hands and would continue to be when the inevitable happened.

After my husband died, the comfort of knowing all was in order with the Wills was a great relief and her help in the immediate aftermath was much appreciated. It wasn’t just the professionalism but the genuine concern for my situation and that of the family. Alex then continued to guide me through the process and through some pretty complicated issues relating to the estate administration. She always responded to my copious emails and phone calls with clarity, efficiency and care.

The whole process was dealt with in a timely manner and to a very high standard and I felt that I was being looked after like one of her own family.

I can’t recommend Alex highly enough – a very talented professional dedicated to her work with a heart of gold.”

JD, July 2020

Will Writing And Estate Planning From Alex Truesdale Wills

Alex Truesdale Wills Limited offers a professional and personal Will writing service, giving you flexibility and control for the present and your loved one’s peace of mind about the future.

Contact Alex Truesdale today to arrange a free, no-obligation initial consultation, virtual meetings or face to face.