Nobody likes to think about a time when they are no longer around so talking to loved ones about what you would like to happen after you pass away may seem morbid or unnecessary. However, talking about financial and practical matters can help put your mind at ease and make things much easier for those closest to you when the inevitable comes.

How do you go about administering an estate where the death was several years ago and nothing has been done since?

The increase in the number of families, comprising of different families that have been linked by new relationships, can complicate the process of inheritance, the creation and administration of Wills, and the distribution of estates.

Why make a Will? It is important for you to make a Will, not matter whether or not you consider you have many possessions or much money. Here we set out five main reasons why it is essential to make a Will.

Unless express instructions are included in the lasting power of attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs about providing for others or making gifts, the general rule is that the LPA attorney does not have power to benefit others apart from the very restricted authority to make the usual Christmas and birthday gifts and to make gifts to any charity to whom the donor may have been making regular payments.

If you write your own Will, without help from a solicitor, you need to make sure you know what's required in the eyes of the law. Homemade Wills are often poorly written, contain mistakes or are incorrectly executed. As a result, they are commonly found to be invalid or ineffective after death.

If you are thinking about creating or updating your Will you may consider the possibility of including a charitable gift.

The Law Society has advised that people should include digital passwords in their will to ensure executors can access vital online information.

When making a Will, the person making it (the testator) must have the necessary mental capacity in order for the Will to be valid.  

Updates will shortly be made to the online Trust Registration Service (TRS) in preparation for opening it to non-taxable trusts for registration later this year. Whereas trustees were only obliged to register in certain circumstances before, the new system will shortly catch the vast majority of trusts with the requirement to go through this exercise.

A recent High Court case has highlighted the challenges faced when a person dies intestate, or when a Will does not cover a number of scenarios, such as what should happen in the event of the unexpected death of a beneficiary.

It is always best to ensure you have a carefully drafted, and updated Will setting out what you would like to happen to your property and effects when you die. The law protects your decisions in most cases but this can provide some inflexibility in the way your estate is handled. Equally, if there is no Will, the intestacy rules can result in undesirable consequences.