Ferguson Bricknell Solicitors Six reasons for not making a will I don't like to think about making a Will Making a Will does not bring forward the date of your death.  It is simply a way of putting your affairs in order so that, when the time comes, your family can sort things out as you wish. I haven't anything to leave You don't have to be wealthy to make a Will.  If you own your house and have a small amount of savings, you can easily be worth £300,000 or more. My wife or husband will get everything anyway Not necessarily.  If you die without making a Will (which lawyers call ‘dying intestate’) then your wife may have to share your estate with your children or other relatives. If we both die, the children will be taken care of. Yes - but who will be taking care of them if you both die while they are under 18?  If you have close relatives then any one of them can apply to the court to be appointed guardian.  If you have no close relatives, then your children could be taken into care by the local authority.  By making a Will you can choose a guardian for your children. Everyone in the family knows who gets what. Well, you may think they do.  Many long running family feuds have started with a row about something in a relative's estate.  Is that the sort of bequest you want to leave your family? I don't need to worry about Inheritance Tax Nowadays you do need to worry about tax, even with a quite modest estate.  Your house is an extremely valuable asset and can easily put you into the tax bracket.  Often there are simple ways of reducing the amount of tax your family has to pay, but you can only take advantage of them by making a Will now