Chris Thorpe, technical officer at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, cuts through the jargon and explains how the deceased’s assets can get to the beneficiaries via a Will, intestacy or gifts made in life, and tax considerations
A Will is simply a written document which states the deceased’s wishes with respect to their estate. There are few regulations surrounding the composition of a Will other than it must be in writing, signed by the testator who is at least 18 years of age and of sound mind, and witnessed by two individuals who are not beneficiaries.
These criteria are laid down within the Wills Act 1837, but with such relaxed rules comes the danger of confusion; the shortest Will ever to pass probate in England was in Thorn v Dickens in 1906 where the Will simply said ‘All to mother’; while that sounds straightforward enough, the testator had a habit of calling his wife ‘mother’ and it was held that she was indeed the intended beneficiary.
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