Can you make a will if you have no property?

Also, is your don't have a will there are other steps that the person showing or you're estate will have to do before they even start e.g. get appointed so that they can sort out your bills, tenancies etc. This adds complication at what is already a difficult time.
Re life insurance, consider term assurance we instead. It's a medium term contract for a fixed number of years eg till your children are 18. Often cheaper.

By "wills are purely for property", the previous poster is referring to belongings, which could be jewellery, money in the bank, investments, a car, a house, sentimental items. They don't just mean a house.

A will is a legal document. In your will you will set out who you want to receive these things. This is usually binding. If you leave your jewellery to your sister, your aunt can't just decide to take it instead.

If you don't have a will, things you own will be given to a relative via the rules of intestate.

You can state who you would prefer to care for your children after your death but this is not binding. Social services could make a different decision. The children's surviving parent could make a different decision. You don't need to write your preference in a will - you could write it somewhere else.

You can leave practical instructions to those left behind, but again this doesn't need to be in a will.

The only thing that needs to be in a formal will is who you want to receive the things you own after you die.

Your wishes for guardianship of minors is most definitely written in a will. Instructions on how to access the kids benefits won't be.

Yes go to a solicitor. You say you don't have property, but you do have kids. Writing a will because you have property is unimportant compared to writing a will because you have kids. You need to START with who will become the legal guardians of your kids if you pass away. It absolutely does and should be written into the will. Especially if their dad is not involved, or in the horrible situation that you were to pass together, but the kids survive.

OP, anyone can make a will if they’re an adult.

It’s actually really important if you have children so you can appoint guardians. There’s no guarantee they’ll be appointed but it will at least state your wishes.

Look into the Cancer Research free will scheme, and it won’t cost you anything either.

@HelpWithWill your beat option, particularly if you need to be clear about childcare, is to consult with a solicitor. Many have a fixed fee will writing service around a few hundred pounds.

Go prepared with a list of any assets you may have - including savings, pension funds, jewellery and anything else you own of monetary value.

Consider who you would wish to be your executor - ie who ensures that your wishes are carried out under the terms of your will. This can be a family member, a friend or a solicitor. It can be onerous for them.

Also go with an idea of how you might wish your children / pets/ other dependents to be cared for both now and as they get older.

Finally, set out any clear wishes you have for your personal funeral arrangements.

Consider the longevity of the will, i.e what might happen now, what might happen if you marry/ divorce/ become ill in the future and how relevant your wishes might still be.

A good solicitor will walk you through all this.

This isn't something that gets written into a will though. Wills are purely for property (which children obviously are not). Your wishes regarding your children and important information that people should know if something happens to you is more like a "living will" or some such thing, a solicitor may still help you with this but it's definitely a separate direction. You cannot state who should have guardianship of your dc in the event of your untimely demise in your will, only who is to have what. Nor do you specify funeral arrangements. You're right though, it's definitely a good idea to get all this sorted out for peace of mind!

Yes, definitely make a will to make clear who should have care and custody of your children. You may not be able to specify every little detail about benefits but, assuming whoever you nominate is a reasonable, responsible person, you should be able to leave supporting information. As PP have said, many charities offer free will writing services but outsource the process to another specialist company (Farewill is a big one) so they don’t “strong arm” you into
leaving anything to them and don’t know what you have said in the will.
I think in your case you might be able to specify that someone other than the main carer of your children has some kind of oversight of their care so that there is a safeguard against anything wrong happening.

Several big charities offer a free will writing service. I imagine they put those involved under a bit of pressure to have the charity mentioned in the will. Though if you do not have a large amount to leave they probably go easy.
I am only guessing about this. I don’t expect they would offer this free service if you have a complicated will.

A will is just an instruction for distribution- what you put in it is up to you

Ideally, everyone should have a will. If you have only one person who would naturally inherit from you on intestacy (you have one child and no partner), it might not make practical difference. Once there's more than one heir, it's better for there to be a will and if you have any particular division of assets in mind (e.g. your eldest gets grandma's brooch) that's also something you should specify.

You have property. You must have personal belongings and you'll probably have some money unless you're in debt or your estate is exhausted completely by funeral fees.

Do you have a job? If so you may have life insurance with your pension.

November is free will writing month. See more about Will Aid here:

www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills/#willaid

I assume he has parental responsibility? You can’t make any legally binding instructions about their guardianship or day to day lives in a will, only make your wishes and preferences known - so it’s really best to have these sorts of conversations whilst you’re still alive, when you’re in a better position to address any concerns he might have or talk him around to your point of view.

My mum died when I was 16 and my brother was 13. She didn't have much (no property or pension) but it really meant a lot to me she took the time to set out what sentimental items we should each have, how she wanted her funeral organised and the fact she wanted us to stay living with our dad (there were some in the wider family with old fashioned views who thought otherwise)

I'm not presuming to know what disabilities your children have, but we have a disabled son (Downs Syndrome) and were advise d to contact Mencap, who offer free advice on wills etc. They were really helpful. We ended up creating a Family Trust as children's benefits can be affected if they inherit above a certain amount of money. Worth speaking to them. X

Yes setting out who you want to look after your children is important - I’m not quite sure how that works but sure someone else on here will.

also you should have life insurance - and the will can help with where that goes

Of course, and you really should.

It's a way to document who you would like to look after your kids, if you want buried or cremated, what happens with any prized possessions etc.

MIL has specified extra money for my DH as her other son was always mooching for money and she kept a tally of it. And, she wants me to have her rings as she knows I will pass them on down the family line and not have them sold for scrap before she's cold like the other DIL would.

It's important to have a will if you would like your things and any money given to anyone different than the rules of intestacy would dictate.