One question consultants of LSUK get asked is “I don’t want ‘so and so’ to benefit from my Will, how can I go about it?” The answer is almost simple, but not quite.
Firstly, there are people you can’t fail to include in your Will. Firstly, take children under the age of eighteen. The law says that you must provide for them, reasonably. Also, if you’ve maintained a person financially and perhaps provided a home for them for a reasonable period of time, they may ‘expect’ you to leave them some financial or other asset. This might apply to a live in housekeeper, butler, gardener (employees most of us can’t afford!). They may be able to enforce a reasonable benefit from your estate, by law.
Then we need to consider who you don’t need to leave money or assets to. Generally you don’t need to leave anything to your children if they’re over eighteen and you’re not maintaining their lifestyle.
An exclusion clause can be put in a Will if it’s lawful. A famous 60’s singer had a Will drawn up in America which stated along the lines of ‘if anyone contests the will, they lose everything.’ You can’t do that in the UK as some people are allowed to contest the will and may be successful if they have a valid claim.
You don’t need to leave money to parents or siblings (or partners/ex partners) either, if you’re not ‘keeping’ them.
You don’t need an exclusion clause in a will saying who you’ve excluded and why, but it can give you back up to ensure people know you didn’t forget them by accident, which may be the claim some non-beneficiaries make. Think how your last document will look if it contains an exclusion clause when it didn’t need to. What happens when it’s available for others to read? What will people think of you? Does that matter to you?
You can use an exclusion letter to be kept with the will, but is not formally part of the will. Your letter should contain something like:
Please accept this letter as written confirmation that I have made a deliberate and conscious decision to formally exclude as a beneficiary from my Last Will and Testament:
Relationship: Name(s)
The decision not to make provision from my estate for the above named has been made whilst of sound mind and without undue pressure or influence from anyone. Don’t forget to add dates and signatures!
It’s always best to take professional advice from a home visit LSUK consultant and then make the right decision with full knowledge.
Filed under: Wills
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