Welcome to the Wansbroughs Private Client - Wills, Tax, Trusts and Probate update for May 2011. Recent case law has raised the issue of ensuring that couples fully understand the extent to which the wills that they have signed may bind one another in the future. Often couples ask for identical wills in which on the first death, they leave their entire estate to the survivor, and then, upon the death of the survivor, the estate is divided between the couple's children. In this instance, the first to die is entirely dependent upon their surviving spouse to ensure that their children do benefit and that the survivor doesn't instead re-draft their will to benefit a third party, for example a new spouse or partner rather than the children. Therefore, at the point of making their wills, an important question should be considered - do the couple intend their wills to be irrevocably binding upon each other? For example, if the wife is the first to die, is it her intention that her husband should never alter his will and that the wills that they made together should continue to be effective? If this is the case, then careful advice needs to be given. If you want to ensure that your specific wishes are not deviated from after your death, you may wish to consider alternative ways of drafting your will. We can advise on a variety of options that can help to preserve your assets for your intended beneficiaries. This could include: Placing gifts into trust for your intended beneficiary during your lifetime; Making a gift (cash or specific property) under the terms of your will, so that if you are the first to die you can be certain that your intended beneficiary receives some inheritance; and Consideration of a life interest trust. Rather than leaving certain assets outright to the survivor, you only give them an interest in the income or the right to enjoy an asset during the survivor's lifetime (for example the family home). The capital value of the asset is therefore preserved for the intended beneficiary.
As we know, people's circumstances change and whilst, when making your wills, it may be inconceivable to imagine a day when the survivor wants to remarry, it can and does happen. As such, if you want to ensure that a specific person benefits from your estate, careful advice should always be considered. If you would like any advice or assistance on this or any other related matter, please speak with your usual contact at Wansbroughs. | 
