Why You Should Write a Will in Your Twenties: It’s Never Too Early!*

It’s never too early to write a will. In fact, it’s a good idea to write one as soon as possible! So, to discover why and what to include, read on…

None of us like to think about death, especially when we’re still in the early years of our lives. In our twenties, we feel invincible, and most of us don’t write a will until we’re old enough to come face to face with our own mortality.

Unfortunately, people can die at any age, so it’s never a bad time to get your estate in order. You can write your own will if you want to save money, or contact local will writing solicitors to do all the heavy lifting for you.

In this post, we’re going to try and convince you that you need to write a will now. We’ll also give you all the details you need for what to include, and help you decide whether you should write your own or leave it to the pros.

Reasons People Don’t Write a Will

Before we give you reasons why you should write a will, we’re going to take a quick look at why you might be holding back on writing one right now.

1. You Have Debts

If you’re a university graduate, you likely have debt of over £30,000, and figure you don’t have anything to leave behind. However, most people are worth more than they think.

Pay-outs on life insurance policies, mortgage support policies, or any other endowment policies may be worth quite a lot of money upon your death. Also, you have your whole life to pay off those debts, and you don’t need to wait until they’re cleared before you write your will.

1. You are Young and Don’t Expect to Die Soon

Not to sound depressing, but anyone can die at any time. Very few of us get to choose when we go so, it’s a good idea to get your will out of the way now just in case. You don’t gain anything by waiting until you’re old.

1. Wills are Expensive to Make

If you’ve lived a long life and you have a huge estate worth vast amounts of money, it can be difficult to divide everything up, costing you a lot of money with solicitors. The benefit of being young is that you probably don’t have a lot to divvy up, so can write your own will fairly easily. It’s a good idea to write up a simple will with everything you need, then add to it or change it throughout your life, depending on how your estate changes.

Reasons to Write a Will Now

You might look at some of these reasons and think this doesn’t apply to you. But, remember, this document will be in place until you either change it, or die, so it’s good to have an idea of how it will serve you throughout your life. Some of the main additions to your will, which are sure to keep all your affairs in order, include:

1. Name Your Children’s Guardian

You might be too young to have children, or you might already have them. Either way, in the event that your current or future children are left without someone to look after them, appointing a legal guardian when you write a will means you will be able to leave them with someone you trust.

If you leave the decision in the hands of the court, they could put your children with someone you don’t agree with. If they have godparents, the relationship is not legally binding, and the court might still assign your child to someone else.

1. Ensure Your Children are Provided for Financially

This is a more obvious reason to write a will; making sure any dependents you leave behind have everything they need to live a normal life. In your will, you can choose how the money you leave behind is distributed. You can put money aside for your children’s education, make sure they receive a set amount each year for hobbies and clothing, or set up an estate so you have control over when they receive the money and what it’s used for.

1. Look After your Partner if You’re Unmarried

Marriage isn’t for everyone, and some people choose to live their whole lives with a person without ever being married to them. That said, if you die unmarried, your partner isn’t entitled to anything from your estate, unless you stipulate it when you write a will. A lot of young people are opting to leave marriage out of the picture altogether so, if you’re reading this, write a will and make sure the person you love is looked after.

1. Avoid Family Disputes

If you die without a will, or your wishes aren’t made clear in your will, you could cause a lot of arguments among your survivors. Contested wills can damage relationships and, if anyone in your family chooses to legally contest it, it could cost them a lot of money.

This is why it’s not only a good idea to write a will, but to make sure it’s as clear as possible. We’ll talk more about that in a later section.

1. Avoid Paying too Much Inheritance Tax

The amount of inheritance tax charged to your estate depends on how much it’s worth, and who you leave it to. Anything you leave to your spouse or civil partner is exempt from inheritance tax, and anything left to your children or grandchildren will generate less inheritance tax than leaving it to other people.

Is it a Good Idea to Write Your Own Will?

If, when you value your estate, you realise it’s too complicated for you to write your own will, it’s probably a good idea to speak to a solicitor and have them do it for you. DIY wills should only be written if your wishes are simple, and your financial situation isn’t complicated.

If any of the following situations apply to you, you should make sure you have a solicitor involved:

• You own property abroad
• You want to reduce your inheritance tax bill
• You have foreign bank accounts or investments
• You’re leaving a part of your business to someone
• You have financial dependents outside your immediate family
• Your will includes any wishes that might be misunderstood

If none of these apply to you, and you want to try writing a will yourself, you can buy a will template or will pack from stationery shops or online for £10 to £30. A template will help you get the right wording and make sure your instructions are followed.

What to Include When Writing Your Will

Now that we’ve tried to convince you that writing a will is a good idea, and you’ve decided to write it yourself, it’s time to tell you what it should include. So, without further ado, these are the most important things to include when you write a will:

• How much money, property and possessions you own:
  • This includes property, savings, occupational and personal pensions, insurance policies, bank and building society accounts, and shares.
• The people you want to benefit from your will:
  • These people are known as beneficiaries, and you should make a list of them in the will.
  • If you wish to leave any money to charity, they should be included in this list too.
• Who you wish to look after any children under 18:
  • This is the legal guardianship we talked about in the previous section.
• Who is going to divvy up the estate and carry out the wishes you set out in the will:
  • These people are known as the executors.

Tops Tips for Writing a Will Yourself

As long as all these requirements are met, you have yourself a will. The only problem now is deciding whether it’s too complicated for you to write yourself. So, here are a few tips you can use when writing your own will, to make sure you get it right:

• Make sure your will is signed, dated and witnessed correctly. Your template should tell you how to do this.
• Make sure your spelling is impeccable, especially the spelling of people’s names.
• Be specific – don’t say ‘my daughter’ or ‘my wife’, use their actual names.
• Destroy any old wills.
• Tell your executor where your will is being kept so they know where to find it when the time comes.

Still Not Convinced?

We’ve done our best to convince you that you should write a will whilst you’re still young, so it’s there in case you ever need it. This is probably the only time you’ll be able to write your own will because your assets won’t be too complicated, and you can always modify it later on down the line when this changes.

It still sounds as morbid as the first time I said it, but it’s hard to know when you’re going to die. So, if you have anything worth sharing with the people you love, it’s better to get it sorted now so you can have peace of mind.

Whether or not you were convinced by this article, it’d be great to have your feedback. So, leave a comment down below and let me know what you thought!