Making a will is commonly seen as something to do later in life. Whatever your age – you should have a will and here are six good reasons why.

  1. Social Media

Most people in their 20’s have grown up in the digital era; they’ve lived on social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok since they first began and most of their memories are stored online. By making a will you can chose an executor to log in to your online accounts and export documentation that may be required by a partner or spouse and also allow for your photographs and sentimental data to be exported. Find out more about this here.

  1. Property

It’s particularly important to have a will if you have property with someone else. If you own the property as ‘tenants in common’ then your share of the property does not automatically pass to the co-owner on your death. If the rules of intestacy apply then your share of the property would be passed on to your closest relatives (probably your parents). If you want the co-owner to inherit your share then you must make a will or make sure you own the property as ‘joint tenants’. Life insurance is also something to think about as this would deal with any inheritance tax or outstanding mortgage.

  1. Your Partner

If you and your partner are not married, then your partner will not benefit under the intestacy rules, even if you are engaged or living together. If you want to ensure your partner receives your assets on the event of your death then you need to make a will.

  1. Children

Okay so maybe you don’t have any…you’re only in your twenties after all. But if you do you should use a will to appoint a guardian for your child. If anything happened to yourself and your partner this would be required to appoint parental responsibility for them while they’re under 18.

  1. Family Members

If you die without making a will ‘rules of intestacy’ apply which set out who inherits your assets. For most people in their 20’s this will be your parents, so if you have a younger brother or sister or other family members you would rather inherit your estate you will need to make a will. This is the only way to be certain this will happen.

  1. Get it done!

Anyone over the age of 18 can write a will so you might as well just get it done, your will doesn’t just deal with what you have now – it will deal with whatever you have when you die. If you won the lottery next year, your wealth would still be passed on by the terms in your will, you can even provide for children you don’t have yet! I would always advise you review the will once in a while, what worked for you at 18 might not be the case at 30. Also, remember that a will is revoked by marriage.

If you need advice on writing a will or to speak to a solicitor who specialises in Wills, Trusts & Probate please call Farleys on 0845 287 0939 or contact us here.