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This article is for general guidance only and is not financial or professional advice. It contains promotional content and links to financial products. All figures and information in this article are correct at the time of publishing. Laws, entitlements, tax treatments and allowances may change in the future. Before you make any decisions, you should get independent professional advice.
Making a will is one of the best ways to protect your family and ensure your wishes are carried out after you’re gone. But while a will is an essential legal document, there are some things you shouldn’t put in it.
Including the wrong details in your will could cause stress, delays or even extra costs for your loved ones.
We’ll explain 10 things you should never put in your will, alongside the best ways to ensure your wishes are carried out.
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Giving some consideration to how your pets will be cared for when you die is important. But while you might be tempted to leave money directly to your four-legged friend in your will, the legal reality is that they cannot be named as beneficiaries.
John Roberts, partner and director of Austin Lafferty Solicitors says this doesn’t mean you’re powerless to protect their future. “Instead, you can leave your pet to a trusted person along with funds earmarked for their care; establish a dedicated pet trust with clear instructions; or arrange for a reputable animal charity to take guardianship in exchange for a bequest,” he explains.
The key is to be specific, so make sure you calculate realistic lifetime costs and put your wishes in your will. If you want a friend or family member to look after your pet, it’s also important to check that they are happy to take it on first.
Your will might seem like a suitable place to outline your funeral wishes – for example, whether you want to be buried or cremated, who you would like to speak and the music you want played. However, there is a real risk your will may not be read until after the funeral has taken place, at which point it would be too late.
Funeral instructions left in the will also won’t be legally binding. It will be down to your executors to make decisions about your funeral, so it’s better to ensure they know what you want before you die.
Caroline Foulger, partner at Hunters Law, suggests: “Wishes should be included in a separate letter to the executors and can include as much information as you want in terms of the type of funeral and arrangements you want.”
Leaving a lump sum directly to someone who is vulnerable or disabled can create problems. As well as potentially affecting their entitlement to means-tested benefits, they might not be able to manage their finances properly or make the best decisions with their money.
Genevieve Gallagher, senior associate solicitor at Foskett Marr Gadsby & Head, recalls a case where a mother left 25% of her estate directly to her disabled son.
“As a result, he lost his benefits, and it took the family months to resolve,” she says. “If the mother had included a discretionary vulnerable person’s trust in her will, her son could still have received the benefit of his inheritance while keeping his financial support.”
A vulnerable person’s trust (VPT) allows chosen trustees to manage the money on their behalf, so they can still benefit without losing their entitlement to means-tested benefits. It’s best to seek advice from a solicitor to help you set this up.
A conditional gift is one that a beneficiary can only receive if they meet certain requirements first. Putting conditional gifts in your will can lead to disputes and make it difficult to enforce.
Fiona Mainwaring, head of wills and probate at ORJ Law, says: “Conditions stating your grandchild should not inherit a lump sum of cash until they reach 18 might be sensible enough, but stipulating that your brother should only receive your beloved Porsche 911 if he doesn’t marry Cindy is not reasonable and unlikely to stand up in court if challenged.”
If you want more control of who inherits what and when, discuss your wishes with a solicitor first. They will be able to tell you if it has the potential to be problematic. You may be able to provide some additional guidance in a letter of wishes, or, in some cases you may be able to achieve your wishes with a trust.
Discrimination might include disinheriting somebody based on their sexual orientation or because they married somebody of a particular race or faith.
Courts can overturn or modify discriminatory clauses, which could change how your estate is divided and cause disputes.
Jim Emsley, founder of ELM Legal Services, says: “Anything that could be seen as unfairly favouring or excluding someone because of race, religion, or another protected characteristic is not only unethical but may be challenged legally.”
It’s best to focus on fair and practical provisions in your will and leave gifts to individuals without tying them to personal characteristics.
You can leave money remaining in defined contribution pensions to the beneficiaries of your choice. But you’ll need to tell your provider who you would like to get this money by completing an expression of wishes or nomination form, rather than naming beneficiaries in your will.
These nominations aren’t normally legally binding, but pension providers would need good reason not to follow them (it is this discretionary element that currently allows pensions to be treated outside of your estate and free of inheritance tax, although the inheritance tax treatment will change from April 2027).
Including pensions in your will won’t override these instructions and may only cause confusion.
If you died without nominating pension beneficiaries, your pension provider usually has discretion to decide how the money would be distributed. While it would do some work to try to ensure it is done appropriately, it might not reflect your wishes.
So it’s important to update your pension provider (as well as your will) if your circumstances change, for example if you get divorced or remarry.
It might seem obvious, but many people make the mistake of gifting something in their will that isn’t entirely theirs.
Mainwaring says: “This includes items bought on finance agreements, such as cars or high-value electronics. If this is the case, they are not legally yours to gift and cannot form part of the will. They will usually have to be returned to the finance provider upon death.”
This also applies to joint assets, such as property or a joint bank account. These cannot be left in a will as they automatically pass to the surviving owner.
When writing a will, you might think you need to leave precise explanations to be sure your wishes are followed. But this is not the case, says Mainwaring.
“You might state that you want to leave your family home, 12 Willow Walk, to your partner – but that house might not be under your ownership by the time you die,” she explains.
It’s also best to avoid naming individual children or grandchildren (unless you are deliberately trying to exclude someone). Stating that you wish to leave all your assets to your grandchildren “Emma and Jack” could become problematic if another grandchild is born, as they wouldn’t receive anything.
These issues can easily be avoided by being more generic and stating that you wish your assets to be divided equally “between your surviving children or grandchildren”, instead.
Your will becomes a public document once probate is granted, which means it can be read by anyone. Because of this, it’s essential not to include anything particularly sensitive.
Mainwaring says: “This could include combinations to a safe or, more commonly in today’s world, digital keys for cryptocurrency.” This also includes passwords for online banking, email accounts, social media accounts, and any other online accounts.
If you leave digital assets in your will, it’s important to provide clear instructions so that people can access them. However, these instructions must not be left in the will itself. Instead, leave them in a safe place or with your solicitor.
If you own part of a business, leaving your share to a family member in your will might seem the logical thing to do. But this can cause problems if the person inheriting has no experience of running the company.
It may also create conflict with business partners and put the business at risk, says Gallagher. She recalls one example of this: “A small business owner left his share of the business to his wife. She had never been involved in the day-to-day running of the company, which led to tensions with his business partner. Due to the ongoing conflict, the partner eventually refused to continue, and the business collapsed.”
To avoid these issues, it’s important to speak to a solicitor and put a clear business succession plan in place. This could be through a partnership agreement or shareholder’s agreement which explains what should happen to your share on death.
“You can also use a trust so that your family benefits financially without having to run the business themselves,” adds Gallagher.
Saga Legal has partnered with Co-op Legal Services, who provide regulated legal services, helping to ensure you have the right level of support and protection for yourself and your family.
Their will writing specialists can assess your circumstances and recommend the right type of will for your individual needs. They’ll then draft your will, send it to you for signing and, once completed, they can store it securely for free for the rest of your life.
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We partner with Co-op Legal Services to offer advice and services for you and your family.
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