The potential pitfalls of homemade Wills

Finalising a Will without legal support is risky business, especially when threats of higher tax liabilities, parts of the estate going to unintended beneficiaries, or even the entire Will being invalidated are very much on the table.

In this article, Alex Speirs, partner at local law firm Muckle LLP, shares her thoughts on the risks of creating a homemade Will.

The risks of an ambiguous Will

You might've heard that comedian Sean Hughes used an online platform to prepare his Will without legal advice or input. 10 years after his death, his executors are only now able to distribute his estate due to ambiguities in his Will.

The Will left Sean's “three houses” to the charity, Shelter. However, only one of the three properties in the Will was owned in his personal name. The other two were owned by a company in which he was the only shareholder.

If the gift to the charity had failed, the properties would have formed part of Sean's residuary estate, which was left to his wider family. The properties were collectively worth millions of pounds, so a significant legacy for the charity or his family.

Despite Sean's family agreeing that Shelter was the intended recipient, the matter was referred to the court due to ambiguities in the drafting. Luckily, the court ruled that the shares in the company holding the two properties should be transferred to Shelter.

Experts in Wills advice

Sean’s Will serves as a cautionary tale. Although the parties agreed on the recipient of the properties, it still took 10 years and a court application before the estate could be distributed. Secondly, if the gift had failed, the properties would have been left to Sean's family rather than Shelter, as he appears to have intended.

Equipping yourself with expert legal advice is the best way to ensure your wishes are recorded clearly and unambiguously. If a Will isn’t sufficiently clear, it could leave your estate passing in a way that you didn't intend. It could also cause lengthy delays and incur unnecessary costs to help resolve uncertainties.

For support with anything covered in this article, contact Alex Speirs using [email protected] or 0191 211 7997