How can you account for unborn children or grandchildren in your will?
Whenever you write a will, it reflects your wishes at the time of writing. Therefore, it’s normal to think about your beneficiaries and your estate as it stands today, rather than at the time of your passing, which is usually an unknown date far into the future.
For the purpose of this article, we assume that you expect to have additional children or grandchildren before you pass away, and would like to account for them. This can be a very common reason to either postpone writing your will, or potentially need to update your will again in the near future.
However, there are a few options to account for unborn children or grandchildren in your will in England and Wales:
Use a class gift. A class gift is a way of distributing property to a group of people, such as all of your grandchildren. You can use a class gift to account for unborn grandchildren by stating that you want all of your grandchildren to inherit your estate equally, regardless of whether they are born before or after your death.
Create a trust. A trust is a legal arrangement that allows you to control how your property is distributed after your death. You can create a trust for your unborn children or grandchildren and specify how you want the trust to be managed. For example, you could say that you want the trust to be managed by a trustee who will distribute the assets to your children or grandchildren when they reach a certain age or meet certain conditions.
There are some additional best practices to keep in mind when accounting for unborn children or grandchildren in your will:
Be specific about your intentions: The more specific you are, the less likely there will be any disputes after your death.
Use clear and unambiguous language: Avoid using terms that could be interpreted in different ways, for example, if you leave your estate to your children, be aware that this will not include any stepchildren.
Review and update your will regularly: If you have any changes in your circumstances, such as the birth of a child or grandchild, you should update your will to reflect these changes whenever possible.
It is important to remember that no will can ever be future-proof to every possible scenario. However, by following a few best practices, you can make sure that your will is as flexible and kept up-to-date.
