Making a Will can protect your home and your loved ones from legal outcomes you don’t want.
No one wants to think about death or disaster when they’re celebrating a house purchase. But since it’s probably the biggest financial commitment you’ve ever made, you need to consider what would happen if you died.
Shocks from the system
Scotland has rigid laws about who inherits your property if you die without a Will, and these could deliver undesirable consequences. For example, without a Will in place:
- Cohabitees don’t have an automatic right to inherit, unlike spouses and civil partners. Depending on your title deeds, they may only be entitled to a partial share of the property or no share at all. If they want to contest this, the time limits are very tight.
- Alternatively, a cohabitee you never wanted to inherit the property could claim a share of it.
- Your children or any other chosen beneficiaries could miss out on an inheritance you wanted them to have.
- Your estate could face legal disputes and additional fees–greatly intensifying the pressures on loved ones at a difficult time.
Wills also need updating
If you already have a Will, great! But you should certainly review it, and perhaps update it, when you buy a property. This will help ensure that it suits your current situation–especially if the property purchase is part of a change in your marital or relationship status.
So, rather than crossing your fingers and hoping for the best with your new property, it’s much safer to make a Will. It may be the last thing on your mind when you’re busy furnishing and settling into anew home, but it certainly has a place.