A Will Is Not Only About Who Receives Your Money

When you think about making a Will, one of the first questions is usually: who do I want to inherit?

That is an important part of it, but a Will can record much more than who receives your money.

It can say who you trust to deal with your estate, who you want to benefit, what should happen if somebody you have named dies before you and, in relevant circumstances, who you would want to look after a child under 18.

For SEND families, these choices may sit within a much wider future plan. But understanding what your Will can actually record is a useful place to begin.

Who will deal with your estate?

Your Will can name the people you would like to act as your executors.

Executors are responsible for dealing with your estate after your death. This may involve dealing with your property, money and possessions before distributing the estate in accordance with your Will.

You can also consider replacement executors in case somebody you have chosen is unable or does not want to act.

Choosing an executor is therefore about more than simply putting a name in a document.

Ask yourself:

• Do I trust this person?
• Would they be willing to take on the responsibility?
• Could they work with the other people involved in my family's plan?

The person you love or trust the most is not automatically the person best suited to every role.

Are there particular things you want someone to have?

Not everything we leave behind is about money.

There may be particular belongings you would want to go to a particular person. It could be jewellery, a watch, a collection, a family keepsake, a vehicle or something that may not have a huge financial value but carries years of memories.

You can also decide who you would like to receive particular amounts of money or whether you would like to include a charity among the people or organisations benefiting from your Will.

A useful question to think about is: is there anything I own that I would particularly want to go to someone who understands why it matters?

Our possessions and circumstances can change over time, which is one reason it is worth going back to your Will and checking that what you recorded still makes sense.

Who receives what is left?

Your Will can also set out who should receive the rest of your estate after the relevant expenses and any particular gifts have been dealt with.

You might want this to pass to one person, several people or organisations, or in different shares.

For SEND families, there may be an additional question: how do I want my child or other SEND beneficiary to benefit from their inheritance?

That does not mean every disabled person needs a trust. A direct inheritance may be appropriate for some people, while other families may need to consider whether a different arrangement would better reflect the beneficiary's circumstances and what they want the inheritance to achieve.

This is where individual planning becomes important rather than assuming there is one answer for every SEND family.

What if somebody you have named dies before you?

This is one of those questions that can easily be overlooked.

You may know exactly who you want to inherit today. But what would you want to happen if that person died before you?

• Would you want their share to pass to their children?
• Would it be shared between the other beneficiaries?
• Or would you choose somebody else?

A Will can make provision for what should happen if somebody you want to benefit dies before you. There are legal rules that can affect what happens to some gifts where a beneficiary dies first, so the wording of the Will matters.

The practical question for you is: if the person I have named could not inherit, where would I want their share to go?

Do you need to think about guardians?

If you have a child under 18, your Will may also be an opportunity to consider who you would want to appoint as their guardian in the relevant circumstances.

Under the Children Act 1989, a parent who has parental responsibility may appoint another person as guardian in the event of their death. However, a guardian appointment does not necessarily take effect immediately or in every family situation. Who else has parental responsibility and the circumstances at the time can matter.

For a SEND parent, choosing somebody may involve thinking far beyond: who loves my child?

You may also be thinking about:

• Who understands how they communicate?
• Who knows what helps them feel safe?
• Who understands their health, education and support?
• What about siblings and other important relationships?
• Where would they live?

A guardian appointment cannot contain all of that practical knowledge. That information may need to be recorded elsewhere and kept up to date.

Importantly, this type of guardian appointment relates to a child. It should not be assumed that naming somebody as guardian in your Will gives them continuing legal authority over your disabled son or daughter once they are an adult.

We will look at guardians in much more detail later in this series.

What about funeral wishes?

You may also want to record wishes about your funeral, including whether you would prefer burial or cremation.

But wishes about what happens to your body after death are not currently legally binding in England and Wales, although they may be taken into account. That means if something is particularly important to you, do not rely solely on somebody finding your Will at the right time.

Talk to the people who are likely to be involved and make sure they know what you would want.

Single Will or Mirror Wills?

This is another area where the terminology can make things sound more complicated than they are.

A Single Will is one person's individual Will. You do not have to be single to make one. Someone who is married, in a civil partnership or in a relationship can still make an individual Will reflecting their own circumstances and wishes.

Mirror Wills are two separate Wills, commonly made by couples where the contents are the same or broadly reflect one another. They are not one joint Will. Each person has their own Will.

Ordinary Mirror Wills should also not be confused with the much less common concept of mutual Wills. Mirror Wills do not, simply by being Mirror Wills, prevent the surviving person from later changing their own Will.

That can be particularly important to understand where there are children from previous relationships, different beneficiaries, different assets or SEND inheritance considerations.

Being a couple does not automatically mean every decision in your Wills needs to be identical. The starting point should still be: what does each person actually want their Will to achieve?

One manageable next step

You do not have to sort everything at once. Take out your current Will and ask:

• Are the executors and any replacements still the right people?
• Do any particular gifts still reflect what I want?
• What happens if somebody I have named dies before me?
• If I have appointed guardians, does that still reflect my circumstances?
• Does my Will reflect my family and my wishes today?

You may discover that everything is still exactly as you want it. Or you may spot one thing that makes you think: I need to check that.

That is enough for a starting point. Future planning does not have to mean solving every possible question today. Sometimes the next step is simply knowing which question needs your attention.

This article provides general information for England and Wales. It is not personalised legal, tax, financial, benefits or care-funding advice. Individual circumstances should be considered before making or changing estate-planning arrangements.