This is a collaborative post.
Becoming a parent is one of the most amazing, terrifying, life-changing things you can do. With it comes a whole different level of responsibilities, some of which are wonderful. Others, not so much. Planning how and where your child will be looked after if you die is the latter. However, it’s so important that every parent has a Will. And the sooner you get it done, the quicker you can forget about it and get on with enjoying being a parent.
This blog post looks at three of the main reasons why every parent should have a Will, and some recent legislation that has changed who is entitled to paternity bereavement leave.
What is a Will?
A Will is a legal document that sets out your wishes about your money, property and possessions after you die. It’s best to seek professional help to write your Will so that it is legally binding – for example if it isn’t witnessed correctly or is unclear, it may not be valid which means the rules of intestacy apply. That means your estate will generally go to your next of kin.
For a Will to be valid, the following must apply:
- you must be 18 or over
- make it voluntarily
- be of sound mind
- make it in writing
- sign it in the presence of 2 witnesses who are both over 18
- have it signed by your 2 witnesses, in your presence
Three reasons every parent should have a Will
To appoint a guardian
No parent wants to consider what will happen to their children if they die before they are old enough to live independently. But the reality is, if you don’t and you do die, your children may not be cared for by someone they know well or trust. Appointing a guardian in your Will makes sure your children are cared for by the people you want to take on this role, whether that’s a close relative or friend.
Without one, it may be the case that social services have to become involved and a court may have to decide where your child lives.
Therefore, making a Will is the single most important thing parents should do to make sure their child is cared for by the people they choose.
To ensure your estate is distributed in accordance with your wishes
Having a Will means that you decide who benefits from your estate, whether that’s your savings or your favourite pair of shoes. However, if you own your property with your partner, how you own it will affect your ability to dictate where your share goes. It’s therefore important to seek advice about this to make sure your share goes to who you want it to, particularly if you and your partner have separated.
To avoid delays in distributing your assets
Dying intestate or without a Will means the process your family needs to deal with to receive the inheritance is lengthy as a letter of administration is required. This process can take up to 18 months depending on the complexities involved.
The rules of intestacy specify who is entitled to inherit a person’s estate and follow a strict order. They don’t include step-children so if you die without a Will, they won’t be entitled to anything. The rules also specify a timescale for family members to come forward and prove they are related so that they can receive the inheritance which can add more delay.
Additional considerations for adoptive parents
Many adopted children experience a range of issues such as developmental delay as a result of their early life experiences. This may mean that it won’t be appropriate for them to inherit at the traditional age which is usually 18. This is also the age adopted children can access their birth records and look for their birth family independently.
It may therefore be more appropriate for the age of your child to be older before they can inherit, with any money being held in trust until they reach the age you specify in your Will.
It’s also worth creating a separate document that’s stored with your Will which sets out all of the details about letterbox contact and any other type of contact you have with birth family, and who you would like to continue with this. This type of information shouldn’t go in your Will because it becomes a public document after a period of time following your death. But it’s the type of information your guardians will need so it makes sense to store it with your Will and to make sure it’s kept up to date.
Finding a Will expert
Will writers can support you through the process to make sure you have everything in place. Many are legally qualified but don’t have to be so your Will doesn’t have to be written by a solicitor. If you want to find someone in your area that you can go and see or who can come to your home, a search on Google should bring up a lot of options for you. Websites such as the National Will Register will show you Will experts in your area if you type your postcode into their search engine.
If you’re based in the North East, The Wills Guys* is a good place to start. They provide advice about Will writing as well as a range of related services such as trusts, long-term care planning, Lasting Powers of Attorney, estate planning and secure storage. The Wills Guys can also provide you with advice about other issues such as mortgage protection, critical illness cover and life insurance all of which help to protect your children should you die or become seriously ill before they are old enough to live independently.
To find out how they can help and make sure your kids are protected, contact Brian.
New Legislation
A new piece of legislation was passed in May 2024 that provides additional rights to adoptive dads when their female partner dies. The Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024 amends previous legislation so that the minimum service requirement no longer applies and the right to paternity leave in these tragic circumstances applies from day one of your employment.
Other changes this Act brings include:
- Removing the condition that prevents bereaved partners who have already taken shared parental leave from taking paternity leave.
- Ensuring that where both the mother and child die, bereaved partners will still be able to take leave, even though leave cannot be taken to care for the child or support the mother.
- Allow for regulations which permit a bereaved partner to take ‘keeping-in-touch days’ – commonly known as KIT days – without bringing their period of leave to an end.
Currently, paternity leave for bereaved partners is two weeks but there are proposals for this to be increased to 52 weeks. The Act will apply in England, Wales and Scotland once further regulations have been made to bring it into force but at this stage, this entitlement does not apply to same-sex parents.
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* This is an affiliate link which means if you instruct The Wills Guys to write your Will, I get paid a fee.
