The Advantages of Making a Will

Are you sensible, rational and well-organised?

Is your will signed, sealed and neatly filed under "W"? Yes?

Congratulations, then, and you do not need to read any further...

Still with me?

Then perhaps you've been "meaning to" write your will for some time. You know there are real advantages to doing so, but it seems to be one of those jobs you must get around to...sometime. Could it be that your reluctance stems from one of the following reasons:

• You'd prefer not to think about wills, dying, and other morbid matters.

• You fear the legal costs would be prohibitive.

• You instinctively shy away from documents containing words like "aforesaid" and "wheresoever situate".

If these are among your reasons for avoiding making a will, it's time to rethink. Let's take the arguments in order.

Firstly, none of us is immortal, so the "it's too morbid to think about" approach doesn't hold up. No one says that life insurance is too morbid — neither should providing a will for your family be seen as a death wish.

Secondly, there's the cost consideration. The good news is that the legal fees for a simple, straightforward will would not be excessive.

Finally, many people, quite justifiably, have a mental block regarding documents written in legal jargon. This need not be a problem. Your Solicitor, a professional trained to simplify legal language, can write your will in normal, easily understood English, ensuring you fully understand and are comfortable with its contents.

Still unconvinced? Then, let's look at what happens when a person dies without a will (intestate), as happens with approximately 40% of Irish people.

The first disadvantage of dying intestate is that you have no choice regarding who benefits from your will. The 1965 Succession Act ensures that if a person dies intestate, their spouse inherits two-thirds of the estate and the children one-third. If there is a spouse and no children, the spouse inherits everything; if there are only children, they inherit everything equally. The problem is that these distributions may not reflect the wishes of the deceased, but the absence of a will ensures the above distribution.

Another problem that often arises when a person dies without a will is the ownership of the family home. If there is a surviving spouse and children under eighteen years of age, one-third of the estate must be put aside for the children. If the spouse wishes to sell the house and buy another, problems may arise as the children cannot release their one-third to the surviving parent.

Yet another disadvantage of dying intestate is that no executor will have been chosen to administer the estate, and an Administration Bond will be required to deal with the deceased's property — a cost that would have been avoided had a will existed.

It can be seen then that dying intestate creates significant problems for a family at a time when they least need additional trauma. This underscores the importance of writing a will, which can be considered an excellent investment for your family.

Incidentally, the most usual form of will for married people with children is leaving everything to the surviving spouse.

There has been no inheritance tax between spouses since the Finance Act 1985. So, on balance, it would seem sensible to call your solicitor and have a will made — it won't cost a lot of money, but it may save a lot of trouble.