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The fundamentals of writing a will

BDJ In Practice volume 37, page 179 (2024)Cite this article

Making a will is a serious business, but the discussion does not have to be dry or boring. Wills are about people, their relationships with each other and their relationships with money (including tax). Here, we run through the fundamentals of things to consider when drawing up a will.

There are exemptions, reliefs - such as might be claimed on your home - and allowances, like the personal allowance of £325,000. Any estate left after deducting these is taxable at 40% IHT. That tax can be reduced to 36% by leaving a qualifying 10% of your estate to UK charities, which may also increase the value (after tax) passing to the non-charity beneficiaries of the will.

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  1. The Guardian. News release: Goodbye wicked stepmother: ‘bonus' families adopting more positive terms. 17 August, 2021. Available online at: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/aug/17/goodbye-wicked-stepmother-bonus-families-adopting-more-positive-terms (accessed April 2024).

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  1. A M Davies, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Jeremy Clough

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  1. Jeremy Clough
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Correspondence to Jeremy Clough.

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Clough, J. The fundamentals of writing a will. BDJ In Pract 37, 179 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-024-2713-y

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