This section contains detailed information on Wills and trusts. If you would like more information on what type of Will you should get, read our article on selecting a Will.

Find out in this section what the requirements are for making a Last Will and Testament and how the law determines that someone has the capacity necessary for making a Will. In short, there are three requirements which must be satisfied for a Will to be valid. They are the following:

• The testator’s capacity
• The testator’s intention (or knowledge and approval)
• The formalities for execution (signing the Will)

Find out in this section about the different parts of the Will, types of gifts and the powers and responsibilities of executors and guardians.

In this section you can find out how to make minor alterations to your Will using a document called a codicil.

This section will inform you how to cancel your Will if its provisions are no longer relevant.

In this section you can read about some of the problems that may occur when you make a Will.

Where a person leaves a specific gift to a relative, friend or charity but it is not properly described and cannot be identified, or the gift is not in existence at the date of death, the relative, friend or charity may well lose the gift. Where a person dies leaving nothing to the surviving spouse/civil partner, any other member of the family or a dependant, the person who is left out may apply to court in certain circumstances and request part of the estate.

This section tells you what happens to a person's estate if they do not make a Will.

A person who dies without making a Will, or without making a valid Will, dies intestate. The property belonging to such a person is inherited according to a strict set of rules commonly known as the intestate rules. Instead of the property going to the testator's chosen beneficiaries, it is left to other relatives in a particular order.

This section will take you through the issues that arise when someone dies and their estate is distributed.

When someone dies having left a valid Will, it is necessary to ensure that their estate is divided in accordance with their wishes. Often this is a relatively simple process but in certain circumstances there are a multitude of possibilities that can arise, from trust funds to situations where a beneficiary wants to refuse a gift left to them. In addition, there are other issues that need to be considered such as tax, debts and funeral expenses that will have to be dealt with too.