When it comes to the legal world and the world of wills in particular it can become an incredibly emotionally charged time. There are a staggering amount of people in the UK who have still not made a will and without one it can leave their family not only in turmoil at having lost their loved one but also in financial turmoil having to go through probate.
Having a will in place can help to ensure that your assets, estate and any personally significant items are passed onto your chosen loved ones. It is incredibly important to ensure that you create a will by using a trusted professional such as a Cheltenham wills and probate like https://beesandco.com/our-services/wills-writing-service-cheltenham/. This is not only to make sure that your will is legal and filed correctly but also as there has been a significant rise in the number of people who are disputing a will once a person has deceased.
A will can be disputed if a family member or beneficiary of the will does not feel that they have been adequately provided for financially from the will. An act was passed in 1975 known as the Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act which allowed selected individuals to dispute the particulars of a will if it left them without proper financial gain. It appears that more and more people are using this act with over 150 people having brought cases to the High Court in London in the last few years.
It is thought that there are a number of reasons as to why the number of dispute claims could be steadily increasing each year. These include the fact that we are living longer which means that people often change their will in later life and this can sometimes cause concern that they were persuaded by a particular individual to submit certain requests or were perhaps not of the same mental capacity as they were at a younger age. Equally the price of the houses that we live in are also dramatically increasing. This means that the sum of money that can be left to individuals in much higher than it would have been 50 years ago. This can lead to disputes by individuals who feel they have not been fairly represented in the will. Finally the dynamic of many families is substantial different nowadays that what it used to be. Many people remarry and some have children from more than one relationship. This can make for tense situations when children feel like the have been left out of a will.
It is for these reasons that you should always consult with a professional will writer as they will be able to talk you through the most commonly seen scenarios and help to prevent disputes between your family arising in the future.