Many of these people have worked hard over many years to own properties, savings, pensions and other assets. Why on earth would you not make a will? One big reason is what we’d call The Great Inheritance Misconception.

If you’re married or in a civil partnership, surely when you die your assets will automatically go to your other half?  That might sound like common sense, but it’s just not true.

Die without a will and the rather coldly-named laws of intestacy will apply. And what the law decides may not be what you actually want.

The husband eventually remarries and his new partner has children from a previous relationship.

The first wife would probably have wanted at least her share of the joint assets to go to her children when her husband dies.

But, without a will, the law may well decide differently. That may not sound fair, but it’s the law. 

With the protection of a properly written will, any risk of the wrong people benefiting from your hard-earned assets will be taken away.

You’ve probably seen the ‘write your own will’ kits on sale. For some people with the very simplest of wishes, these may be appropriate.

However, those of us born in the decades after the war have seen an unprecedented growth in personal wealth, especially in property. For many, ownership and the passing on of assets is seldom simple.

It may be difficult to contemplate, but your loved one may find themselves in care in their later years. A correctly written will can reduce the impact of care home fees on their remaining assets, so that when that loved one passes away, more of your assets remain for your chosen beneficiaries in the next generations.

But look at the people around you, and imagine their hardship if your assets end up in other hands as a result of your inaction?  Isn’t that even harder to contemplate?