Act now to make - or to update - your will

A WILL does not have to be a very complicated document that people fear. But it is advisable to give careful consideration to all of the assets you want included in your will, and to make sure to update it every few years to reflect the changes in your circumstances, such as children.

Making a will ensures that when you die, your property and other possessions pass to the people you choose in the most tax-efficient way, which is why it is such an important document.

It allows you to appoint suitable guardians for children under 18 years of age, so this is another reason why it is a crucial document for any parent.

Without a will, a person’s estate will be distributed between family members, but this may not be in a way which you would have wanted.

It is also important to bear in mind that there are tax rules on the inheritance of assets as well as tax thresholds available to people, depending on their relationship to the deceased.

Under current legislation when inheriting a house, spouses are tax free while children are tax free up to €335,000 each.

We spend so much time investing for our future and trying to provide for our children, so it’s a very simple way to do that.

We watch our utilities and mortgage so regularly and a will should be treated the same way.

We advise people to update it every couple of years because your circumstances change, such as when you have children, but also, as your children grow older, a suitable guardian for them may also change.

Separations and divorces are quite common nowadays and people might find themselves in a situation where they have a second family to care for. But also the value of your assets may change.

There was a lot of hype around capital tax changes in the last budget, which didn’t happen, but it’s definitely something that will happen soon.

Cork financial planning firm, Provest can help make a will more tax-efficient for people and we would encourage anyone to contact them, especially if they feel confused about what is involved.

One thing we advise people to do before contacting Provest is to make a list of all their assets, including a person’s property, bank accounts and where they are, insurance policies and pension policies.

This is very useful as it points people in the direction of where your assets are in the event of the unthinkable happening.

There are a lot of unclaimed assets in this country such as bank accounts and policies because executors don’t know about them. If you do the exercise once, it’s worth the effort because you can update it very simply.

Provest, which is based in Douglas, offers personalised financial advice to private and corporate clients on a range of items from pensions, investments, retirement planning and life cover.

Another interesting part of making a will is the legislation around Enduring Powers of Attorney, which is set to change later this year.

Under the current law, a person can appoint someone to take control of their personal care decisions, property and financial affairs in the event that they lose their mental capacity.

The government passed legislation in 2015 as a result of a European Union Directive on Human Rights Law and it was due to go live on November 21, 2022. However, that date has been delayed with the hope that it may go live before the end of the year.

This new law will introduce different levels of decision-making assistance for people, and someone who has been appointed as an attorney will have more onerous duties such as financial reporting obligations.

However, there is one major benefit of the new legislation, with the introduction of a new Advance Healthcare Directive, where a person will be able to appoint someone to make decisions on their behalf about refusal or request for treatment where they lack capacity, which was not possible in the past.

Provest is highlighting the importance of a will in a new podcast called Money Matters, which is available on Spotify and Apple podcasts.