Protect your children in 2023

Calling all parents, ‘do you have an up to date will in place?  

Three quarters of parents in the North West and eight out of ten parents across Wales have no legal guardian in place to care for their children in the event of their deaths 

Research commissioned by SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) and Allington Hughes Law, with offices in Chester, Wrexham and Llanwrst, shows 76% of parents in the North West and 81% in Wales have no legal plans in place to make sure their children are looked after, should the parents die. 

According to the research, parents across the North West and Wales   are almost completely unaware of the risks of not identifying a legal guardian in a will. Only one in ten (13% of) parents in both the North West and Wales understand that social services or the courts can step in to decide what happens to your children if you don’t have a will in place. 

SFE, a membership bod of over 1,700 UK solicitors specialised in advising people planning for the future, is calling on parents to make sure they have an updated will in place ahead of Update Your Will Week 2023 (23rd – 29th January). 

The Private client team pictured left to right – Emma Jacobs, Caroline Barman and Helen Alexander

Emma Jacobs, Senior Associate Solicitor at Allington Hughes, explains: 

“It’s shocking how many parents don’t have a will in place or haven’t appointed a legal guardian for their children. Godparents don’t count as legal guardians, so to avoid the risk of the courts deciding what happens to your children, you really should make a will and update it every five years. 

“It’s crucial to keep your will up to date and take legal advice when life-changing events happen, like getting re-married or having children. Our research shows that four in ten wills in both of our local serving areas are out of date, and many people don’t in fact have a will in the first place.” 

The new research commissioned by SFE and carried out by Censuswide also reveals: 

• Around half of respondents in the North West (52%) have experienced a life changing event, such as getting married, divorced or having a child, since they last updated their will – meaning it is likely to be out of date. 
• Only 50% of respondents in Wales have updated their will within the last five years, meaning half of the wills in the country are out of date.
• Over one fifth (22%) of respondents in the North West know someone who has been affected by something going wrong with a will with one in ten (12%) in Wales having the same awareness.  
• One fifth (19%) of respondents in the North West believe it’s possible to update a will by amending the original document and initialing the changes – this is not legal and not a way of updating a will.  

Allington Hughes Law recommend reviewing and updating your will every five years, or when a major change in your life occurs that impacts you or your loved ones, such as divorce, marriage, a new birth or even death in the family. Having an up to date, well drafted will is crucial in ensuring your wishes are carried out in the way you’d like when you die.