Can you make a will if you have no property?

[HelpWithWill]

In my family, no one owns their own home and no one has any ‘big’ assets that could be passed down to a partner or their children. When people have passed, there’s never been a will to refer to or anything like that.

I have two young children and I’d like to have something in place in case I randomly pass away. I don’t have anything to pass down to them like an estate or anything but can you still have a will in this case? Or is a will solely for those that have a property/money? I hope that makes sense!

Of course you can make a will with no property.

Yes. A will is instructions for what you want to happen to all your assets - including physical objects like jewellery and any savings etc.

It can also have instructions about what you would like in terms of funeral, which can be helpful to those organising.

Yes. Everybody owns stuff even if it's not a house or land.

You would probably have some money in your bank account and might have a pension or life linsurance? If you die with no will its much more difficult for those left behind to sort out stuff.

It is really important to make a will whatever you have. Even if it is just to ensure your most sentimental items go to the right people

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.

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.

Ah this is a relief. I’m 25 and tbh, I’ve never seen anyone speak about a will until I joined MN. Most people seem to speak about money or property so I wasn’t sure if you could make a will just for general things such as leaving instructions behind.

Thank you for all of the comments, this is definitely something I want to arrange. Now where would I start with writing a will? I’m assuming there’s will writing services or something like that?

I also have two children with disabilities so it’d be helpful if I could leave certain instructions behind for their dad if I was to die in a random accident

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

I actually tried to apply for life insurance earlier this year but because of my weight and the fact that I’m diagnosed with an eating disorder, nowhere would accept me which is pretty rubbish. I may need to look into this a bit further because there surely has to be someone who’ll accept me!

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

I’ve heard of Mencap so I’ll definitely look into contacting them, thank you! I literally have no money that’ll be passed onto the children so I’m not worried about that🫣

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 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.

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

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.

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

This is the kind of thing that I had in mind. I’d also like to state my preference of what happens with the children so that my family are aware of my wishes. Even instructions for their dad on how to maintain their DLA claim/EHCP and so forth. Little things like that really!

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.

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.

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!

Well according to the comments on this thread, I can still make a will even if I don’t have any property. So I can state what happens to my belongings etc. Once I find out more information on what can be written into a will, I may just have a separate letter/instructions that I can leave behind. That’s all I want to do really

Thanks for all of the comments! I’ll look into this

@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.