Your last Will and Testament
One of the most significant legal documents you create throughout your lifetime is your will. Whether your concerns are straightforward or intricate, using Silk Neilsen Legal is a simple approach to make sure your desires are fulfilled and that your belongings are transferred according to your expectations.
What is a Will?
A will is a written document made in compliance with the Succession Act Cap 249 of the Laws of Barbados – wherein the Testator (person making the Will) or Testatrix for female disposes of all of his/her property in which he/she is beneficially entitled at the time of his/her death and which, on his/her death, devolves on his/her personal representative – according to Section 59 of the Act.
Photo by Álvaro Serrano on Unsplash
Things you need to have thought about before you choose a will
Before selecting the right template, you’ll need to have a rough idea as to:
- whether the value of your estate will exceed the inheritance tax threshold
- whom you want to leave specific gifts of money and possessions
- whom you want to leave the remainder of the estate after specific gifts.
We provide an information article called Sorting the structure of your will that provides more detail as to the things you might like to consider before writing your will.
Which will template to use?
We provide a number of different Last Will and Testament templates, so as not to tie you to that “one size fits all” approach that others offer.
We recommend you look at one of our free templates first.
We provide these templates for free for you to complete yourself. If you are finding it too difficult on your own, we can help for a fee. As there are no capital gains, wealth, inheritance or gift taxes in Barbados, you do not need to worry about reducing the tax paid on your estates and, the chances are that, one of these will be perfect.
We recommend that everyone look at a free will template first and the majority of the wills we charge for are similar to these free versions. In this way you will be able to see whether one of our templates is right for you (of course, we are sure that one will be).
Common features to all of our wills
All of our will templates, suitable for both men and women, contain:
- Extensive guidance on how you can create your will.
- An example letter of intent to help you write your own.
- Options allow you to specify other people to whom to leave your estate should the first person or group of people pre-decease you and, therefore, ensure that the gift of the residual estate does not fail (gift over)
- Options for leaving gifts to underage children (i.e. to a parent or guardian for safekeeping, or in trust).
- Revocation of previous wills.
- Appointment of executors and, if appropriate, their remuneration.
- Memorandum of wishes – including funeral choices.
Alternatives to using a template
If you would prefer not to use a template, then you could have a will made for you using our online will form. You will be asked questions about your wishes, and our software will create your will for you. The software will create a will based on one of our templates. It will be checked checked by us, before being made available to you.
The online form can be found by clicking on the “Start Your Will” button at the top of any page or use this button.