Personal Estate Planning is about more than simply making a Will, albeit many find the very idea of contemplating their mortality so hard to bear that they cannot face being reminded of it.

Others reckon Wills simply aren’t worth the effort because they have little or nothing to leave, or because their wishes are too obvious to require a written explanation.

They may, for instance, intend to leave all their assets to one person – a spouse/civil partner, say, or an only child. They tell themselves that their nearest and dearest are already well aware of this, so why bother to pay good money to a lawyer simply to write it down in official language?

Another view of Wills is that they are for people with a lot of money who need to find ways of avoiding Inheritance Tax (IHT). But mitigating tax – while extremely important for those likely to be affected – is by no means the only reason to make a Will.

For a start, if you die “intestate” (without a Will), your estate will be that much harder to wind up and, if you have not named an Executor, the job goes to your next of kin, who may be completely unsuited to the task.

If there is no Will, your assets are shared out as the law dic­tates, which could be very different from what you had intended. For instance, if you are married, you may assume that without a Will your spouse automatically inherits everything.

Think again – if you have children, your surviving spouse only gets a prescribed amount and a life interest in half the remainder – your children get the rest. If you are childless, your surviving spouse may indeed inherit everything – but only if they have no in-laws.

And all of that’s before you take into account pensions, life insurance, investments and/or any business or property interests you may have.

Dying ‘too soon’ is one thing, but what about living ‘too long’. If you haven’t appointed someone to speak and act on your behalf (an Attorney) if you are physically or mentally unable to do so yourself, then it’ll be down to the Office of the Public Guardian (a statutory body) to look after your affairs.

Having a complete stranger managing your property and financial affairs is one thing but imagine having one making decisions about your health and welfare, even if that’s for a relatively short period of time. Say, though, you eventually needed long term care and the State appointed Attorney decides to sell your home to pay for it.

Thankfully, the English legal system allows you decide for yourself in advance of ‘stuff’ happening, but only if you employ the proper documentation and processes; hence why Personal Estate Planning is much more than simply writing a Will.