Should you and your wife/husband/partner each have your own Will?
Yes, but first, what are joint wills?
There was a time when couples could write ‘joint wills’ (just one will for two people) and people often express this wish. However, this is usually just confusion on the use of legal words; what most people want are separate single wills each; it’s just that they want them very similar. Will writers almost certainly will not write a joint will anymore because they are unsuitable for one main reason; either of the couple could destroy the will and therefore end the will without the other partner knowing. This would leave the other partner facing intestacy (not having a will at the time of death) without even knowing this was a possibility.
If there is little difference in your circumstances these can be Mirror Wills with broadly the same wording. This means that they ‘mirror’ each other. Often a couple want exactly the same content in their last Will and Testament.
Having one’s own will means that should your circumstances change in the future, you’ll know that you have your own will and you can update it accordingly.
Joint Wills are now an outdated practice. They are extremely complex and costly to administer and, more importantly contain a number of legal loopholes.
Should you want to know more about joint wills, then ask an LSUK consultant to explain the differences and you’ll see that you’ll want your own last will and testament.
Filed under: Wills
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