A Mother’s Advice On Adulthood – Buying A House, Getting Married, and Having Children.

Lawyers are people too – they have wives, husbands, sons, daughters: they face the same trials, tribulations and challenges as anyone else. They also have the same worries and concerns and want the best for their families and loved ones.

In the following article, Jules Burditt shares the exact same advice she gave to her own daughter.

As a parent of a daughter who has recently bought a house, had a baby and is soon to be married, I have provided her with lots of advice about the reasons and necessity of making a Will as these are three of the biggest milestones that she will fulfil during her lifetime.

Buying a house:

A Will allows you to control and provide certainty about what will happen to your assets, including any property you own when you die, ensuring that your assets pass to others in accordance with your wishes. It is, therefore, important to make a Will when you buy a property. Depending on how you have bought your property, whether it be 50:50 or in unequal shares such as 60:40, for example, it might be advisable to enter into a Declaration of Trust so that on your death, your estate would receive the correct percentage of the sale of the property that you have initially contributed.

Having children:

It is also important if you are the parent of young children to protect their future should anything happen to you. Making a Will enables you to appoint a legal guardian of your choice to look after your children until they reach the age of 18. If you are leaving your estate or a share of your estate to young children, you will need to consider at what age those children are to inherit their share. A beneficiary of an estate can be a minor. However, when someone is under 18, they are seen to lack the capacity to inherit a gift under a Will and therefore are not entitled to receive or accept the gift or share of an estate until they reach the age of 18. You may feel that the age of 18 is too low for your children to inherit, so you can decide for them to inherit at 21 or 25, for example. Don’t worry about your children not being able to access the money before they are 18! Your appointed Trustees will hold the inheritance for the benefit of your children, and the income and capital may be used for the child’s schooling and other needs if required.

Getting married:

If you are getting married and want to organise your affairs in anticipation of your wedding, I would advise that your Wills are made in contemplation of marriage. Section 18 of the Wills Act 1837 allows this perfectly acceptable method of drafting to be valid, and the marriage will not revoke the Wills. There is a misconception that Divorce revokes a Will – it doesn’t (but divorce does mean your spouse cannot inherit under your Will). However, it is a marriage that automatically revokes a Will. By drafting your Will in contemplation of marriage, it will prevent this from happening.

If you are going through a major life change, it is important to update your Will, or indeed make a Will.

Contact one of our Will experts on 0800 088 6004 – we’re all the help you need!