There are many benefits of making a will; first and foremost it ensures any property belonging to you passes to your loved ones upon death. Making a will also enables the testator to prepare gifts and assets in order to avoid paying a large proportion of inheritance tax.

Although having a will is extremely important, it is equally important to have a will drafted by an experienced probate solicitor. Homemade wills are often littered with legal errors and do not account for any complicated changes that often occur in life. For example they often miss out assets and do not account for the death of the first beneficiary. Such DIY wills often lead to situations where people try contesting a will or make an inheritance claim - which can be hugely expensive as well as risk irreparable rifts between the family and might end up in the estate being distributed contrary to how the deceased might have wished.

A will allows for the testator to appoint executors. These may be professionals such as a firm of solicitors. They can also be family members with good business and financial acumen or more commonly a combination of both. Appointing a trustworthy executor ensures that your final wishes are carried out properly and efficiently, it also means that the value of your estate can be realised to its full potential. The appointment of a competent executor becomes more important the more complex and bigger a testator's estate is. Estates involving trusts normally have a detailed will in order for the executor to know exactly what to do with the money.

The creation of a will allows you to state any specific arrangements you want upon death, for example a particular style of funeral and your preference for cremation or burial. These are decisions that are often left to be made by close family and it can offer comfort to them in knowing they are following your instructions.

A large number of people draw up a will so that they can make the most of any inheritance tax reliefs. Leaving assets to a spouse will avoid inheritance tax; you can do this by creating a discretionary trust in a will. Not only this but gifts made to charity are also inheritance tax exempt, so you could avoid giving money to the state by leaving it to a cause you believe in.

A will can contain information about setting up a 'lasting power of attorney'. This right can be awarded to a trusted person so that if you loose mental capacity there is someone to deal with your care, treatment and financial affairs. The will can detail who you want to have this power and facilitate a lasting power of attorney agreement in the future.

It is a good idea to use your will to nominate legal guardians whom will care for your child in the event of your death. This is especially important if you do not have much family, or you do not want your children to be cared for by your remaining family.

An experienced probate solicitor should be able to help you write a will for as little as £150 plus VAT (dependent on the size and complexity of your estate). The will can be amended later on to reflect any changes you wish to make. Creating a will can ensure the security of your loved ones and help prevent money from your estate going to HMRC.