Is your Will worth the paper it is written on?

IN last week’s Sunday Post there were comments on the Ilot decision. The mother had fallen out with her daughter and cut her out of her Will in favour of charities. However after 10 years of wrangling and 3 Court Hearings, the daughter was awarded £50,000 against her mother’s wishes. The question was “should a parent’s Will be binding?” Everyone who commented took the view that the parent’s Will should be binding. However in Scotland children have a right to a share of the estate when the first parent dies and a larger share of the estate when the second parent dies. At present this is restricted to the moveable estate (not the house) but this may well be extended to the house as well. The children have to be advised. You can’t just ignore them and hope for the best. The children are entitled to interest on the sum due from the date of death. And to make matters worse they have 20 years to decide! And in England and Wales it is not much better. There is a legal obligation on the parent when making a Will to make “reasonable provision” for close family members. If you fail to do so, they can apply to the Court for an award. If they succeed it’s not what you wanted. Even if they fail, think of the hassle, cost and delay. The good news is that there is an easy and valid way to prevent this from happening. So if you want your Will to be effective come what may, why not contact McClure Solicitors for advice. The advice is free and home visits are available anywhere in Scotland, England and Wales. Simply freephone 0800 852 1999 or email contactus@mcclure-solicitors.co.uk WW & J McClure Solicitors Ltd trading as McClure Solicitors. Directors: Andrew J Robertson and Stewart Moore