A will is a legal document setting out instructions as to how your property (called the 'estate') is to be dealt with and enables you to select the people you wish to entrust with the responsibility of distributing the estate. Without a Will the law will decide for you (see Intestacy Rules).

Around half the population in England and Wales still die without having made a will. Given that a Will covers ALL assets and property owned by a person and is obviously in most cases of substantial value it is quite astonishing how many people leave it to the law to decide what should happen. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is a perceived lack of need because it is often believed that a surviving spouse would under the law be entitled to inherit the whole estate. You would be surprised to learn that this is not always the case and that there are limits on what the spouse can inherit.

Instructing a solicitor to make a will is in the vast majority of cases surprisingly straight forward simple and painless and the cost involved is cheap. When you consider the problems that not making a will could create for your family after your death most people would happily pay the fee several times over.

In addition to how your estate should be divided a Will also enables you to appoint guardians for your children and make provisions to reduce or avoid inheritance tax.

Without a doubt a will is the most important document you will ever sign.