Everyone should have a will; most people think about it but don’t do anything about it. No one wants to think about their death, but ignoring or avoiding this essential life admin can cause problems for any family, making a difficult situation even worse.
By offering our will-writing benefit, you will give your employees peace of mind and a cost-effective way of preventing inheritance issues after death.
If your company participates in the scheme, you will also enable the administrators of your life assurance and pension scheme to deal with the affairs of your employees quickly and easily.
Many people have misconceptions about wills. While promoting this scheme to staff, you may have the opportunity to dispel some myths about inheritance and help people realise the importance of keeping an up-to-date will.
The problems caused by dying without a will
Many people assume that their nearest and dearest will automatically inherit everything in the event of their death. This is not always the case, and dying intestate, that is, without a will, can create a lot of work for loved ones.
If a couple is married, the remaining partner will usually inherit the estate. However, the probate process will be much simpler and quicker if the will contains details of all assets, including pensions, life insurance policies, and bank accounts. Delays in receiving funds can cause financial difficulties for families left behind.
If a couple lives together but is not married or in a civil partnership, the situation is not as clear-cut. Dying without a will can cause a significant problem if the deceased was the sole owner of a shared home, as the remaining partner may not have the right to continue living there.
An employee without a partner may have parents or siblings who have a claim on their estate, but if they die intestate, the family will have to spend time and money to prove their claim.
Why an up-to-date will is so important
Some of your employees may already have a will. People often write a will when they buy their first property, but this may no longer be appropriate after a few years.
Life changes quickly, and your employee may have had a child or acquired stepchildren since writing their first will and want to use an inheritance to make financial provision for them.
A will can also be used to appoint guardians for children. Appointing a guardian may be particularly important if your employee is a single parent.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the average duration of a marriage in 2021 was 12.9 years. Even if you are divorced, the terms of a will remain unchanged, and former partners will still be in line for an inheritance unless a new will is written to reflect your employees’ new life circumstances accurately.
Wills in a changing world
A will is no longer just about tangible assets like money in the bank and the family home. Digital assets now form part of many estates and must be reflected in a will.
Digital bank accounts and online investments. Music, photographs, emails, social media accounts and some online subscriptions may all be part of an inheritance.
Many people now include passwords to their online affairs in their will to ensure a smooth probate process after death.
The Enjoy Benefits Will Writing Scheme
We have negotiated a 20% discount for employees using the will writing scheme.
The cost of the will is taken from the employee’s salary before national insurance is deducted. This meant a basic-rate taxpayer would save a further 12%, while employees paying higher-rate tax would save 2%.
The employer is not charged. Learn more about the benefits of our will writing scheme here.
About Enjoy Benefits
We have vast experience helping companies introduce workplace benefits for their employees.
Our simple-to-use hub makes it easy for employers and employees to set up and manage our benefits schemes and for companies to track benefit uptake.
If you want an obligation-free chat to discuss which benefits work best for your business and your employees, please call 0800 088 7315 or use our Contact Form.
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