Having children can put everything into perspective! Making your Will also fits into this category. If you have minor children or are responsible for the care of minor children, it is important to ensure that you have a Will in place so that; in the very sad and unfortunate event of a parent or guardian passing away while their children are still minors, you direct on how the children are to be cared for and by whom.
In a Will, a parent or legal guardian can include a clause appointing an individual(s) to act as guardian on behalf of their minor children/children they have been appointed as guardian for, in the event of all parents/legal guardians of such minor children passing away before such children reached 18.
In relation to making a Will and leaving legacies to children or anyone who at the date of passing has not reached the age of 18, the said recipient of the gift would not legally be entitled to receive such gift until they would turn 18. What happens in the meantime is the Executor and Trustee of your Will would hold such gift on Trust for the minor until the minor would come of age; turn 18. When making Wills, you can also stipulate if you would prefer for such gift to go to the minor when they would reach perhaps an older age of 21 for example, (lets face it, we all know how daft we were at 18!). By being held in Trust this means that a Trust fund would be created or a special account set up where the Executor would only have access to the said funds before the minor would come of age if stipulated in a Will that funds could be used for example for the maintenance of the child or for their health or educational needs.
You can also specify the powers you wish to give to your Executor and Trustee in your Will in relation to holding gifts on Trust for minors. For example, you can state that you direct that your Executor and Trustee can use their unfettered discretion in using trust assets provided same are for the benefit of the said child/children.
Here at McCay Solicitors we are more than happy to help you with the drafting of Wills or any queries that you may have in relation to making a Will.
Written By Our Associate Solicitor; Andrea McGill