WILL WRITING IN SCOTLAND

With our Will writing in Scotland service, we can help you:

• Name trusted people to deal with your affairs.
• Ensure that your cash and assets are dealt with according to your wishes.
• Reduce or completely eliminate your exposure to Inheritance Tax
• Appoint legal guardians to any children who are underage.
• Protect vulnerable beneficiaries.

Most people know what a will does – it sets down in writing your instructions for your money and possessions when you die. What a lot of people don’t realise, however, is what happens if you die without having make a valid will in Scotland.

If you die without a will, the Scottish rules of intestacy are applied. This means that your money and assets on death will be distributed according to complicated and inflexible rules that often result in unintended consequences.

Even before your estate can be distributed, a court-based procedure will need to be followed to appoint someone to deal with your estate. This can be an expensive and time-consuming process – something easily avoided with a valid will.

Here is a brief overview of some of the potential pitfalls of dying without a will in Scotland.

Living together
If you live with someone but aren’t married or in a civil partnership, your partner will not be entitled to anything if you die without naming them in your will, unless they raise a court action through the local sheriff court.

Remarriage and disinheritance
Unless a professionally written will has been created, there is little that can be done for couples harbouring concerns about future relationships, remarriage or a change of heart in the event of a death. Without a valid will, couples in that situation are putting at risk their intended beneficiaries’ inheritance.

Leaving something to a vulnerable beneficiary
If you would like to leave money (or an asset) to an adult with a disability, this can create serious problems for that beneficiary unless you create a will with appropriate trust provisions included. Without a valid will, a disabled adult who inherits outright from your estate faces a host of potential problems when you are no longer around. Not only can a vulnerable beneficiary lose their entitlement to claim means-tested benefits in such a circumstance, an outright inheritance may first require a guardianship order to be obtained from a sheriff court.

We serve all Scottish areas including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Fife, Stirling, Inverness, Perth, Troon, Oban. A will writing service Scotland can rely on.

Contact us today on 0141 628 5544 to make an appointment, or email us now at info@weirlaw.co.uk. You can also send us a Free Online Enquiry.