Can a child stop you from seeing your grandchildren?

In the UK, the average age of first-time Will writers is 58 – over two decades older than the average first-time homebuyer at 33, the average new parent at 30 and 34 for mothers and fathers respectively, and the average newlyweds around 35.

What this shows is that many people aren’t seeing life’s key milestones as a driver to write a Will. Instead, age seems to be the primary driver.

However, this isn’t necessarily the best way forward.

Growing your estate

Understandably, age is a big motivator for writing a Will for the first time, for the simple fact that you are more likely to need one as you age.

However, the growth of your estate over time should also be a driver for writing a Will.

While this may well correspond with age as you accumulate assets, the data shows that you’re likely to be significantly younger when you begin to own significant assets, such as a house, than the age at which you might consider writing a Will based on mortality alone.

In simple terms, it should be ownership of major assets that drives you to make a Will, rather than age or poor health alone.

This gives you time to plan and ensure that your loved ones are cared for.

Marriage and separation

If you are in the minority of people below the average marrying age to have already made a Will, it will be invalidated once you are married, if you did not make it in contemplation of marriage of civil partnership.

It is vital, then, that you take the opportunity of your marriage to review any previous Will to ensure validity, how best to provide for your new spouse or civil partner and how to deal with any shared and separate assets.

Under intestacy laws (if you die without a Will), your spouse may automatically inherit your entire estate, or at least part of it if you have children.

While this mirrors the wishes of the majority of married people, the law still applies to separated, but not divorced, spouses or civil partners – so you should review your Will upon separation.

You may also have certain assets that you wish to leave to your children or a close friend, making it important that you make a Will once you are married and continue to update it regularly.

Providing for children

Having children is perhaps the most important milestone for making a Will as a younger person.

This is because, without a Will, your spouse is likely to be entitled to a share of your estate, even if not the entirety of it – which may be against your wishes.

You may also wish to leave assets to your children in a trust, which will need to be detailed in your Will and set up with the support of a solicitor.

Your Will is also your opportunity to appoint Guardians for any children under the age of 18 if anything should happen to you and your spouse/their other parent – typically a relative or close friend.

Writing a Will as a younger person isn’t something many of us want to think about, but it is vital to do so once you begin to reach life’s milestones or acquire larger assets. Doing this will help to protect your estate, your spouse or civil partner, your children and other loved ones.

If you want to review or write a Will or discuss planning your estate, please contact our Private Client team for tailored advice.

When buying your new home, it’s important to know that you enjoy unrestricted access to your property and its land.

While it’s uncommon in newer properties and those in urban areas, some homebuyers may face issues relating to the legal ownership of access to a property, such as a driveway.

This can substantially impact the value of a property and the ability of the buyer to proceed with the sale.

Our Residential Conveyancing team takes a look at how this situation can be navigated and how homebuyers can achieve the best outcome.

A question of ownership

When you buy a property, your conveyancer will check and report on access to the property as part of the ‘title investigation’.

They will look to see whether your new property has a ‘good and marketable’ title, including whether the property has sufficient legal access or a right of way that allows you to enter and leave the property freely.

This will show you if your property borders a publicly adopted road – one which is maintained at public expense. This is not private property, and therefore any house which borders it has a right of use.

However, if access to your property includes a private road, then someone else may own that land and you may not have automatic access to your property.

Obtaining access

Your property’s title will not be deemed ‘good and marketable’ if you don’t have legal access. However, there are ways of gaining legal access without the automatic right conferred by a publicly adopted road.

A right of way (or ‘easement’) can provide you legal access to a property across private land in one of three ways:

• By Deed – One party permits access to their land by the other party, typically in exchange for a fee
• By prescription – If the claimant can show uninterrupted use of 20 years or more, an easement may be presumed
• By implication – When a property is sold, a legal right may be created that allows the buyer to use someone else’s land to access the property without specifying it in the Deed.

Without a legal right of way to your property, it will be considered ‘landlocked’. Your conveyancer will have to report this to your mortgage lender, who may then revoke your mortgage as the property is likely to face further difficulties and represents a higher risk to your lender.

If you need advice on obtaining access to your new property, please contact our Residential Conveyancing team to discuss your situation.