Whilst most of your assets and possessions can be left to anyone you choose, there are a number of things which fall outside the scope of your will and will be disregarded, no matter what you request.
Items which can’t be included:
- Joint bank accounts – any funds in these accounts will automatically go to the surviving account holder.
- Any property held as a joint tenancy – your half of the property will automatically go to the surviving joint tenant. See our ‘Your home and your will – joint tenant’ article to find out more.
- Life insurance policies in trust – any payments due on death will be paid directly to the beneficiary previously nominated by the deceased.
- Death in service benefits – any payments due on death will usually be paid to the spouse or person nominated in the policy information.
- Pension benefits – these will usually go to the spouse or the person nominated in the scheme documents.
- Trust assets – if you’re the beneficiary of a trust, you may not be able to give away those assets in your will. Your trustee will be able to confirm the conditions applicable to you. Equally, if you are a trustee you cannot give away any will assets you hold as a result of your position.
- Assets not owned by you – this can include items borrowed or leased, such as a car.
To avoid any doubt, when you make your Affio will, we’ll help you identify the assets you have and the ones which can’t be included, so you can be sure of who will get what when you die.