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Am I too young to make a Will?

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Making a Will enables you to decide who you want to inherit your financial assets when you die. It allows you to help look after the people that you really want to ensure are provided for upon your death. If you don’t make a Will before you die, the law will decide who receives the assets from your estate – which may not always be who you want it to be.

Despite the importance of having a Will, according to a recent study by Royal London, 54% of UK adults do not currently have a Will in place. A separate study conducted by the Kings Court Trust also shows that the younger generation are significantly less likely to have a Will in place – with 75% of adults aged over 55 having a Will compared to only 24% of adults under the age of 35.

Even if you are significantly younger than 35, the risks of not having a Will in place mean that if you own any assets, or if you have a family or dependents, you should consider making a Will.

At what age can I make a Will?

In England and Wales, to make a valid Will you must be over the age of 18 years old and have sufficient mental capacity. This minimum age is only reduced in special circumstances; soldiers on active duty or sailors at sea can make a Will even if they are under the age of 18.

Why should young people consider making a Will?

It is certainly never too early to consider making a Will, even if you are as young as 18 years old, because 18-year-olds:

Can legally own land and property;
Can be parents and may want to make provisions for their children – such as naming guardians for them;
Often work and have assets such as bank accounts and savings; and
May have valuable digital assets which could include various social media accounts such as YouTube, Soundcloud etc.

The Intestacy Rules – the potential problems

If you die without a Will, your estate will be distributed according to a strict set of rules known as the Intestacy Rules. This could mean that the people you would prefer to provide for lose out. Consider the increasingly common scenario of a young, unmarried couple living together with no children. If one of the unmarried partners dies, the Intestacy Rules dictate that their parents will inherit their estate. This could be problematic as:

No provision would be made for the surviving partner, even if the deceased wanted to make provision for them; and
The deceased may not have a good relationship with their parent(s) and may not wish for them to receive anything from their estate.

It therefore important that you make a Will, no matter how young you are, to make sure you stay in control of your estate. That way, you can be sure it will be inherited by those you want to make sure are looked after upon your death.

Contact the Wills experts

If you want to ensure that your estate is divided according to your wishes, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our Wills and Probate team. Call us now to instruct one of our experienced and specialist lawyers to represent, advise, guide and support you.