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Under present Scots law, the fact that you are cohabiting with (living with) another person whilst still married does not affect your spouse's or Civil Partner's claims upon your Estate at your death.

Can we make mirror Wills?
This has proved technically difficult to computer code and would also make this website more complicated. We want to keep this simple and so each individual should make their own Will. Having said that, if it is simple to make one Will the second will be a doddle!

Do my children have any inheritance rights if I leave a Will?
In Scotland, children cannot easily be disinherited. If you make a Will then you can limit their claims to a share in your moveable property.

If not mentioned in a Will, children have the right to claim a share (they don't have to claim but, if under 16, a claim will likely be made for them) in your moveable estate only.

Follow these tables to find out what your child is entitled to claim:-

Under present Scots law, the fact that you are cohabiting with (living with) another person does not affect your children's claims upon your Estate at your death.

Can I cut a relative out of my Will?
That depends on the relative. If it is a spouse (someone you are still married to) or child this is not entirely possible under Scots law, but, by making a Will, you will limit their claims. For what can be claimed if you make a Will see Spouse's/Civil Partner rights and Children's rights.

If you are 1) in a Scots partnership and 2) that partnership owns heritable property then, since a share of a partnership is moveable property that heritable property is treated as moveable for the purposes of inheritance.

For example, a widowed farmer has a son and 2 daughters. He is in a farming partnership with his son - the partnership owns the farm. In his Will he leaves his share in the farm to his son. Unfortunately, the daughters claim their share in the partnership and the son has to sell up in order to pay them out. Had the farm not been part of the partnership assets, his daughters would have been unable to claim a share in it.

For what children can claim where there is a Will see Children's legal rights.

My assets exceed the Inheritance tax limit (£300,000)
Tax is payable on your Estate when you die on the excess over £ £300,000. This is due to rise to £312,000 for deaths after 1/4/2008 and £325,000 for deaths after 1/4/2009.

It is payable at the rate of 40%.

As with most tax matters it is often more complicated than that and there are ways to avoid this situation. It would be wise to see a Solicitor in order to discuss how to avoid the tax man getting his hands on your money!
Correct as at May 2007.

I own assets outside Scotland
What happens to your property abroad when you die depends on the law of that country and we would recommend that you make a Will there to cover the foreign property.

If you have already made a Will abroad and we make no reference to it in this Will then it is quite possible that the foreign Will would be deemed to be superseded by this one and of no worth.

To avoid this we can insert a clause to say that this Will only relates to the property you own in Scotland.

Note. This area can be very complicated and very much outside the scope of a simple Will. There may also be taxation implications. Even if you make a Will now it is very much in your interests to see a lawyer with experience in this area.

I wish to have a Solicitor/client relationship
We cannot offer this for the simple reason that Solicitors are required by the Law Society of Scotland to have personal contact with their client.

This is, for instance, to avoid the situation of a person, up to no good, having a Will prepared for someone else and forcing them to sign it. Or of a child preparing a Will for their aged and mentally impaired parent and thus cutting out his or her brothers and sisters.

We would love to be able to offer a Solicitor's service but regrettably this is not proving to be possible over the Web.

Do I need to visit a Solicitor to ratify my Will?
No - a Will drawn up by you, here, is, as the Law Society of Scotland agreed when asked by the BBC, in all respects, valid.

I might be married by habit and repute
It is notoriously difficult to prove such a marriage, particularly these days when it is no longer considered scandalous to live together.

It is not just a matter of time together, everyone must think you are actually married. It is beyond the scope of a website dealing with simple situations and simple Wills to help.

If you think you are in this situation you need to see a Solicitor.

Same sex relationships - can my Will be contested?
Formerly, only children and spouses (husband/wife) could, of right, contest a Will in Scotland and then, only to a limited degree (see other answers on this page for more details). The advent of formal registered same sex relationships, has, however placed those who have a registered a Civil Partnership in the same position as spouses.

Other relatives have no claim if you make a Will unless you were of unsound mind at the time you signed your Will.

My affairs are complicated
Generally having a Will is better than having no Will, so make a Will here by all means, but bear in mind that whilst this website can prepare a Will for the majority, if your life is complicated, in ways not explored in this Will-making process, you would be well to play safe and to see a Solicitor.

If you think you are in this situation you need to see a Solicitor.

Can I leave something to my Executor
Yes, we have made provisions in your Will that any bequest to an Executor will be valid.