General Article At what age should you make a will?

Topic Selected: Bereavement Book Volume: 407

At what age can you write a will in the UK?

Although most people writing wills in the UK are older than 50, you can legally write a will from the age of 18 and there are many reasons to do so.

What happens if you don’t write a will?

A will controls how your ‘estate’ (your money, property and possessions) is dealt with and who benefits from it when you die. If you died without a valid will, then you would need to rely on the intestacy rules (written in law) and your wishes may not be carried out.

For example, if you were cohabiting and died without leaving a will, the intestacy rules would mean that the person you live with would not receive anything from your estate.

Why should you write a will?

While most people prepare wills for the likes of tax planning and making it easier for loved ones to deal with an estate on death, there are other reasons why you should make a will which could apply to people from a range of ages:

Children: If you have children who are under 18 years old, y...

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