• Do you have your permanent home in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland?
• Are you of sound mind? i.e. do you understand what you are giving away, how you are giving it away and who you are giving it to?
• Are you over 18 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland or over 12 in Scotland?
• Do you have less than £312,000 worth of assets? This figure is the current value of a person’s assets that is free from Inheritance Tax. For the purposes of your Will, ‘assets’ include your property, personal possessions, cash, savings and investments. Note that some insurance policies cannot be left in your Will. You need to check with your insurance provider. Sometimes your pension rights cannot be included in your Will so you should check with your pension provider. If you own a property as a joint tenant (if you do not know how you own your property, then check with the solicitor who did your conveyancing), then your share of that property will automatically pass to the other owner and therefore will not be included in your Will.
• Is all the property you own in the UK? If you live in England and own a property in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the property is considered to be foreign property because it is in a different legal jurisdiction. The same applies if you live in Scotland and own a property in England or Northern Ireland, this property is considered to be foreign property because it is in a different legal jurisdiction. Therefore, you need to take legal advice in the country where the property is situated.
• You do not own a business or share in a business? If you run a business on your own (sole proprietor), are part of a partnership or if you own all or part of a private company you should take legal advice.
• You do not have children? An unmarried father does not automatically have parental responsibility (the ability to make decisions about their child’s welfare) unless the child was born after 1 December 2003 and the father is named on the birth certificate. The unmarried mother automatically has parental responsibility. The appointment of a guardian in your Will is only effective after both parents with parental responsibility die. So if the father does not have parental responsibility, it is possible for a mother to name someone in their Will other than the father to be the child’s guardian.

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