If you make a will, then your spouse, children and other beneficiaries will inherit in terms of your will, in addition to numerous other benefits.
Under Scots Law, everyone over the age of 12 can make a will and there are many reasons for making a will.
A will is often made to be a single document, under which the estate of a deceased person will be passed to various beneficiaries according to the terms specified in the deed.
There are various main points to consider when making a will in Scotland.
Yes, you can make changes to your will after it has been drafted. As above, a will is not set in stone and once made and signed it can be easily changed in the future by additional documents known as “codicils”, which can take account of any changes in your or your family’s circumstances.
Yes, you can make a will to provide for even the smallest estates. You may think that you only have a small estate and it won’t make a difference, but it gives you certainty about your affairs and gives certainty to your loved ones that survive you.
In addition to the Scots Law requirement for you to be older than twelve years old and have legal capacity to make a will, under the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, the will must be in writing and must be made in accordance with a set of legal rules which prescribe the required form for all wills in Scotland.
In Scotland if you die without making a will then your estate is divided and passed on according to the law of intestate succession. These laws determine how your money, property or possessions should be allocated in the absence of a will and this may not be the way you wish them to be distributed.
If your will is not drafted by a solicitor or other professional, there is a chance that the will is not considered to be valid. In the past the Scottish courts have taken a relatively strict approach to interpreting wills in order to establish a completed testamentary intention.
If you have not made a will, your estate will probably not be left in accordance with your specific wishes.The result is that your widow, widower or a surviving civil partner will get your house up to the value of £300,000 plus the furniture and furnishings of that house up to the value of £24,000.
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0141 416 0097
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