Leaving behind an inheritance for your children is something every parent wants to make sure of, but the process isn’t always as simple as it ought to be! Here are some tips…
Every parent can agree on one thing – their children are their number one priority. If you’re a parent, you’ll be able to attest to the fact that you want your children to be well looked after, both in the present, and in a future where you’re no longer around.
We can make sure that our children are taken care of when we die by leaving behind an inheritance. While this sounds simple enough on paper, inheritance can quickly become complicated, such as if there are problems with the executor of an estate, or if a Will is incorrectly witnessed.
In this post, we’ve put together a handy list of tips that will help you to make sure your kids receive their inheritance after you die, no matter which method you choose to use. Take a look…
What Do We Mean by Inheritance?
In this instance, inheritance refers to the assets you pass on to your loved ones, such as your children, when you pass away. And, by assets, we mean property, titles, family heirlooms or cash – anything that would be considered to be of financial value.
While some people assume that these assets simply pass on without any prior arrangements needing to be made, this isn’t necessarily the case. If you die without having plans in place, such as having a Will, your assets will be split according to the rules of intestacy – meaning there’s a chance your children won’t receive what you want them to.
Tips for Making Sure Your Children Receive Their Inheritance
Don’t Put Off Organising Inheritance
A simple tip to keep in mind (and one that many people forget about) is to make plans for inheritance as early as possible. Plenty of parents make the mistake of thinking that estate planning is something they only need to worry about later in life, while the reality is very different.
It’s highly recommended that you start thinking about your future as soon as you have any tangible assets that you’d ideally like to leave behind. Most specialists in this area would probably advise that you make plans before you even have any children to leave any inheritance to.
Use a Solicitor to Help You Write a Will
If you’re making plans for your children’s inheritance, chances are you’re going to be writing a Will which details exactly how you want everything to be passed down. While this is a very important step. There are plenty of potential pitfalls which you run the risk of falling into if you aren’t careful.
For this reason, it’s essential that you work with a specialist solicitor who can guide you through the entire process step by step. This way, you can make sure that your Will covers everything it needs to and will be deemed valid.
This is especially important as, if someone challenges the Will and its contents, it may be put under review. If it’s found to be invalid (such as if it was not properly witnessed), then it may be ignored, and your estate will be distributed according to the rules of intestacy.
So, you certainly want to make sure that no stone is left unturned.
Review Your Will as Regularly as Possible
Once a Will has been written, that’s that, right? Wrong! Our lives are constantly changing, which means we need to make sure our Wills are regularly reviewed and updated to make sure that they accurately reflect our circumstances.
There’s no right or wrong way of doing this. You can either review your Will on a periodic basis, or you can review it whenever something big happens in your life, such as having another child – you wouldn’t want to leave them out of your inheritance now, would you?
Set Up a Power of Attorney
We never know what life might throw at us next, which is why it’s incredibly important to have a Power of Attorney in place. A Power of Attorney allows a designated person to make financial, practical and/or medical decisions for you if you’re not able to do so.
For example, if you suddenly become ill or have an accident, and lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself, you’ll have the assurance that someone you trust is on hand to make decisions – such as making arrangements for your Will and your children’s inheritance.
Importantly, creating a Power of Attorney doesn’t mean you automatically hand over your rights to make decisions for yourself. It will only kick in once you’re no longer able to effectively act in your own interests.
Create a Trust
A very popular way of ensuring your inheritance passes on to your children effectively is to create a trust. In simple terms, a trust is a legal arrangement where you give cash, property or investments to someone else so they can look after them for the benefit of a third person(s) – in this case, your children.
There are two important roles to be aware of: the trustee is the person who owns the assets in the trust and are expected to manage it properly, and the beneficiary is the person the trust is set up for.
The important aspect of trusts is that, if certain conditions are met, the assets involved no longer belong to you. This means that, when you die, their value will be free from Inheritance Tax, meaning the value is maximised.
Are You Ready to Ensure Your Children Receive Their Inheritance?
In this post, we’ve discussed some of the ways you can help to ensure your children receive their inheritance after you die. Planning for a time when you’re no longer around is never easy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t incredibly important to have these discussions.
How else might you ensure your children receive their inheritance? If you have any tips of your own, be sure to leave them in the comments below.
Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a trained financial professional. Be sure to consult a financial advisor if you’re seeking advice on your finances. We are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.
