We will advise you about the appointment of Executors. The Executor carries out the instructions given in your Will. Most people appoint members of their family or friends to be Executors. However if you would prefer to appoint us, or another professional Executor, please raise this at your appointment and we shall be pleased to assist.

Once you have made a Will you can make as many changes as you wish thereafter. Sometimes it will be best to have a new Will drawn up, and sometimes a Codicil will be sufficient. Any Codicil will then be read together with your Will. It is worthwhile checking your Will every few years, to see if any updating needs to take place.

The minimum age is 18 years. The best advice we can give is that everyone who is over that age should consider having a Will, but certainly if you are married you should have one.

Please remember that if you have a Will, and then you marry after that, your Will will be revoked, unless it was drawn up expressly in contemplation of that particular marriage.

Witnesses to your Will must be adults, and must not benefit under your Will or be married to anyone that does. Most of our clients choose to sign their Wills in our office, and members of our staff will act as witnesses at no extra cost.

Your Will should be kept safe, and preferably not at home. We offer clients the facility of storing their Wills in our strong room. Alternatively, some clients choose to lodge their Wills at their Bank.

A specific alternative provision in your Will will come into operation, if you've made one. Otherwise the gift to that individual simply fails and the sum of money or item then passes back into your general Estate.

You will not be able to work this out very accurately, but you will be able to calculate an approximate figure. Then you will be able to decide how you wish to leave your Estate.

Values rise (and sometimes fall), and therefore a review of your financial situation every few years, when you also review your Will, is very sensible.

If you can let us have a full and accurate description of the item, and the details of the person you wish to leave it to, then this will be included in your Will.

Your funeral and other related expenses are paid out of your Estate.

If you have a particular preference for burial or cremation, you wish to leave your kidneys for transplantation, your eyes for corneal grafting, or your body for medical purposes, then these wishes will all be included in your Will.

Please check whether it is held by your Bank or with any previous Solicitor. If it cannot be found, it is very important that you should make a new Will.

Whatever a person leaves for the benefit of his or her spouse will be free of Inheritance Tax.

As a general rule gifts that are made within 7 years of the date of your death (over and above the annual exemption of approximately £3,000), have to be brought into account when calculating liability to Inheritance Tax. Remember, however, there are other exemptions apart from the annual exemption, and we can advise you about those.

Where all, or part of your Estate is potentially taxable, we will advise you on the amount which can be left without any liability to Inheritance Tax, and the rate of Inheritance Tax on any taxable part of your Estate.