Your Will is the formal document that sets out what is to happen to someone's property and possessions when they die.
It allows the person making the Will, known as the testator, to appoint executors to administer their estate and dispose of it to their chosen beneficiaries.
A testamentary document is a document taken to be proof of your wishes to be followed on your death.
The executors are the people you have chosen to look after your affairs. They ‘execute’ the Will in accordance with your wishes.
Your estate is everything you own – money, property, assets and other possessions - minus everything you owe.
The beneficiaries are the people who you are leaving something to in your Will, whether it is money, assets, individual items, or you are letting them off a debt.
A Will only takes effect on the death of the person who made it and can be revoked at any time before then.
If you don't have a valid Will you are said to be intestate. This means that neither you nor anyone else – except the law – has control over what happens to your property after your death. This is not an ideal situation, for many reasons.
How is your Will set out?
A Will is usually divided into clauses following the pattern:
introductory clauses which identify you and your executors
funeral wishes
appointing guardians for children under 18
specific gifts of money, property, possessions and other assets
the creation of trusts of property or assets
gifts to charities
disposing of the remainder – known as the residuary estate;
administrative provisions, to do with interpretation of the Will
execution provisions – signing and witnessing of your Will
It can be a very short document, or a very long one. The more complicated your estate, and the more people you want to benefit from it, the longer your Will is likely to be.