Will Laws Review

Will Laws Review.

The Law Commission of England and Wales is to review the current laws, rules and procedures for making a Will.

Current law on Wills was established way back in 1837 with subsequent minor amendments over the last 140 years.

The concern of the Law Commission is that we are living longer, mental capacity has become an issue in that medical treatment is better than it was in the Victorian era and those that may or may not be deemed capable of making a Will do not make one.

In simple terms, if you lack basic mental capacity when you make your Will is not legal.  Given medical advancement, people can be “lucid” for periods and this should therefore not prevent them from making a new Will or altering an existing Will with a codicil.

The review will take place in 2015 with new laws not expected to be in place until 2018.

Comment

Dying without a Will, intestate, is restrictive in that the law takes over under the Intestate Estate Act (and subsequent amendments), this may mean that people or organisations you like to be beneficiaries in your Will cannot do so.

Likewise, having a Will reduces basic administrative burden on the Courts as well as those left behind having a clear path on what to do with the deceased’s assets.

The review will cover: many elements to remove barriers to making a Will and indeed actively encourage those that are not so sure or indeed help carers who are helping those who are temporarily incapacitated and temporarily lucid to be able to make a Will.  This has to be a good thing.