Wills and Estate Planning
Making a Will is not something most people enjoy thinking about. It can feel emotional and easy to postpone. But making a Will is the only way to ensure that your wishes will be fully met after you die.
At Neilsons, we provide specialist Will writing and estate planning services in Scotland, ensuring your wishes are properly recorded in accordance with Scottish law.
Even if you believe you don’t have substantial assets, a Will ensures your estate is dealt with exactly as you intend – and spares your family unnecessary stress, delay, and legal expense.
Why making a Will is so important in Scotland
If you die without a Will, your estate is distributed according to Scotland’s statutory intestacy rules. This can be a lengthy, expensive and complicated legal procedure and more importantly the scheme of division may not represent how you would want your estate divided. These fixed legal rules may not reflect your wishes and can produce unintended outcomes – particularly for:
- Unmarried or cohabiting couples
- Blended families
- Business owners
- Families with young children
- Those wishing to leave gifts to friends or charities
Scottish succession law also provides “legal rights” for spouses, civil partners and children, which apply whether or not a Will exists. A professionally drafted Will ensures these rights are considered properly as part of your overall estate planning.
Without a Will, your family may face:
- Delays in accessing funds
- Court procedures to appoint an executor
- Additional costs
- Uncertainty or disputes
What your Scottish Will should cover
Every Will is different. We guide you carefully through the decisions that matter most based on your circumstances. It is important to get proper legal advice.
Executors are responsible for administering your estate. They collect assets, value the estate, apply for Confirmation (the Scottish equivalent of Probate), ensure all debts, inheritance tax, income tax and capital gains tax are paid, distribute the remainder of your estate according to your Will and provide a copy of the Estate Accounts to the beneficiaries.
We usually recommend appointing at least two executors in case one is unable to act or dies before you.
Your executors might be:
- A spouse, partner or family member
- A trusted friend
- A professional advisor such as your Solicitor.
Being an executor carries significant legal responsibility. It is important to choose the right Executor because they are ultimately personally liable for winding up the estate. Executors are personally accountable for mistakes made during estate administration, so careful selection is important.
Many clients appoint their Solicitor as Executor to ensure impartiality and to avoid family conflict. This is also important if a Trust is created for young beneficiaries. It is, however, entirely up to you.
You may wish to leave fixed sums of money or specific items to named individuals or charities. We need the names and addresses of the beneficiaries and details of the item or sum of money you propose to leave them. We ensure these gifts are clearly drafted to avoid ambiguity or dispute.
The residue is what remains after debts, taxes and legacies are paid. For many families, this forms the largest part of the estate.
Often, married couples or civil partners leave everything to each other, with the estate passing to children after the second death. However, blended families require careful drafting to ensure children from previous relationships are not unintentionally excluded.
We advise on structures that protect all beneficiaries fairly, regardless of who dies first.
If you die when any of the beneficiaries are under an age you specify in the Will (normally between the age of 18 up until the age of 25), a Trust can be formed which provides for investment of the beneficiary’s share; your Executors become Trustees and they have power to apply the income and the capital for the maintenance, education or benefit of such beneficiaries until they attain the age you have specified.
If you have children under 16, your Will allows you to nominate guardians who would care for them if both parents die. Trust funds would help support your children and be used to financially assist with their maintenance and education. This is one of the most important protections a Will provides for young families.
While not legally binding, you can record your funeral preferences in your Will if you wish. This can be helpful where specific religious or personal wishes apply.
What happens if there is no Will?
If there is no Will, we have to establish who has the legal right to be appointed as Executor. This is normally the main beneficiary such as the spouse or civil partner.
Where a family member who is not the spouse wants to be appointed as Executor, the law requires that an insurance policy called a Bond of Caution is taken out before Confirmation is applied for, to protect the Executor against future claims on the Estate.
We then submit a formal Writ to the Sheriff Court requesting the appointment of the Executor.
Small Estates in Scotland
If the value of the estate is below certain limits, Banks and Insurance companies will sometimes pay out to the beneficiary without Confirmation.
They will require an Indemnity to be signed in the presence of a Notary Public to protect against them paying out to the wrong person. Neilsons are Solicitors and Notaries and will assist you with this documentation.
Completion of the administration
When the estate is ingathered it is distributed in accordance with the will.
If there is no will, the law determines the scheme of division based on the closeness to the deceased of the surviving family members. We will advise you on this.
Our experienced executry team ensures full compliance with Scottish law.
When should you make or update a Will in Scotland?
You should review your Will if you:
- Buy or sell property
- Get married or divorced
- Have children or grandchildren
- Receive an inheritance
- Start or sell a business
- Experience a bereavement
Regular reviews ensure your Will remains effective and aligned with current Scottish law.
Why choose Neilsons for your will?
- Local expertise across Edinburgh and the Lothians
- Clear, jargon-free advice
- Fixed, transparent fees
- Experienced team of private client solicitors
- Free initial consultation
- Home or hospital visits available, at the appropriate additional charge
We take a practical, sensitive approach to what can feel like a difficult subject – helping you make confident, informed decisions.
Book your free Will consultation
If you’re looking for trusted Will writing services in Edinburgh and the Lothians, speak to our specialist team today.
A short conversation now can provide long-term peace of mind for you and your family.
Will writing frequently asked questions
Yes. Although spouses have certain prior and legal rights under Scottish law, intestacy rules may not reflect your wishes – especially if you have children, stepchildren or specific gifting intentions.
Legal rights are automatic entitlements that spouses, civil partners and children may claim from your moveable estate. A Will prepared properly by a Solicitor ensures these are properly factored into your estate plan.
Costs depend on complexity. We provide clear fee information at your free initial consultation.
Yes. You can update your Will at any time by preparing a new Will or a formal amendment (codicil). We recommend reviewing it regularly.
Online templates often fail to address Scottish succession law correctly, particularly around legal rights, property ownership and trusts. We do not recommend going down the DIY route for something so important. Using a Scottish solicitor reduces the risk of errors and disputes.
Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important part of estate planning.
These can include things like online bank accounts, email accounts, photos stored in the cloud, social media profiles, cryptocurrency, online subscriptions, and digital assets.
While these may not feel “tangible”, they can still have financial or sentimental value – and without clear instructions, your executors may struggle to access or manage them.
Scottish law does not automatically give executors access to digital accounts. Each provider has its own rules, and many will only act if your wishes are clearly documented.
We recommend preparing separate digital assets record alongside your Will, detailing:
- What digital assets you hold
- Where they are located
- How they can be accessed
- What you would like done with them
For security reasons, passwords should never appear in your Will (which becomes a public document after death) and also because they tend to change so regularly, but we’ll advise you on safe ways to store this information and link it to your estate planning.
At Neilsons, we help clients incorporate digital assets into their wider Will and executry planning, ensuring nothing important is overlooked.
