12 facts you didn’t know about Wills

We thought we would have a break from the usual more serious article topics and present 12 facts about wills, estates and associated phrases and topics that you may find interesting.

1. You don’t always have to be 18 before you can make a will

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will, unless you are a soldier on active duty or a sailor at sea, in which case you can be any age.

2. You can’t leave your estate to your cat ☹

Your pet might be the most loved member of your family, so you might be upset to read that you cannot leave your pet any of your money. Pets cannot own property or money, so you cannot leave anything to them in your will.

However, there are different ways you can plan for them in your will to make sure that your pets have a good life after you die. Take inspiration from this loving owner:

Mrs Mandel, an American businesswoman has left $100,000 (£81,000) to her dog, cat and 32 cockatiels (miniature cockatoos).

Leslie Ann Mandel, married to the science fiction writer Arthur Herzog, left an estate valued at $5.3m when she died in New York in June 2019.

The New York Post reports that Mrs Mandel left specific instructions that the birds should continue to live in the aviary in her $4m property and that her cat and dog should also be taken care of.

3. Your debts do not die with you

Any debts that you have which are outstanding when you die will need to be paid from estate funds. Once these have been paid the remainder of your estate can be distributed in accordance with the wishes expressed in your will. It is possible for an estate to be insolvent or ‘bankrupt’ if there are not enough assets to repay the debts.

4. Care Home Fees and Inheritance Tax

You may not realise that a will can be used to assisting in protecting assets from being used to fund care home fees. A carefully planned will can also reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax your estate has to pay, or make your estate exempt from Inheritance Tax altogether.

5. A murderer cannot inherit from the person they have killed

The forfeiture rule is a common law rule derived from public policy, which states that a person who is criminally responsible for the death of another person cannot inherit as a result of their criminal act.  In other words – you cannot inherit a person’s estate if you are criminally responsible for their death.

6. A Rose a day

US comedian Jack Benny left a very romantic instruction in his will when he died in 1974.

“Every day since Jack has gone the florist has delivered one long-stemmed red rose to my home”, his widow Mary Livingstone wrote in a magazine, shortly after his death.

“I learned Jack actually had included a provision for the flowers in his will. One red rose to be delivered to me every day for the rest of my life.”

7. Gifts to charity

You may not have known that any gift you make to a UK Charity in your will is free of Inheritance Tax.

As well as the gift itself being tax-free, charitable gifts can also reduce the amount of Inheritance Tax that the rest of your estate will pay.

If you give at least 10% of your taxable estate to charity, the Inheritance Tax rate for the rest of your estate drops from 40% to 36%.

8. “I don’t need to make a will because my spouse will receive everything automatically”

It’s a common misconception that if you die without having a valid will, your spouse will automatically inherit all of your estate. This is not necessarily correct. If you have children and die without a will, your spouse will inherit only £250,000 of your financial assets, your possessions, jointly held assets, and only an interest in the other half of the estate.

If there are no children, then the spouse will receive only the personal possessions and the first £450,000. The remainder is then halved between your spouse and the rest of the family.

9. Around 54% of adults do not have a will

Wills are not something people think a lot about, as these statistic show:

• Around 54% of adults do not have a will
• 59% parents either do not have a will or have one that is out of date

10. Origin of the phrase ‘Pop your clogs’

The expression ‘pop your clogs’ originated in the UK in or around the 1970s.

The most popular theory surrounding the origin of the phrase relates to ‘pop’ being a synonym of ‘pawn”.

‘Popping’ has been used to mean pawning since the early 18th century. Clogs were once essential, so pawning them would only be done if a person had no further need of them – if they were dead.

Theory number two is that the ‘pop’ just meant ‘die’, as in ‘pop off’. ‘Pop’ has existed in the language meaning ‘die’ for several centuries.

11. Anonymous donation to clear the national debt

One anonymous donor made a half-million-pound bequest to Britain when they died in 1928, which is now worth more than £350m. The anonymous donor was very specific about how the money should be spent stating that it should only be passed on once it is enough to clear the entire national debt.

Unfortunately, the total national debt stood at £1.8tn as of March 2019 and so the country can’t touch the money.

12. Your will cannot appoint someone to make decisions for you if you lose capacity

A will is a document that only ever comes into force upon a person’s death. You therefore cannot grant powers or instructions to be followed while you are alive within your will.

If you want to make arrangements for someone you trust to make financial and health decisions on your behalf then you should arrange a Lasting Power of Attorney to be drawn up by a solicitor.

Are you thinking of making or updating your Will?

If you’re thinking of making or updating your Will, let our experienced solicitors guide you through the process and explain all of the options available to you.

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