A new survey has revealed that more than one in ten people in the UK don’t know how to get a Will, despite over 90% of the population considering it to be important. Of those who didn’t know how to get a Will, 5% of them were aged 55 and over, and 2% were 65 and over.

One in six people felt they were too young to have a Will, with 16% of these aged between 55 and 64 and 2% in the 65 years and over age group.

Of the 42% that already have a Will in place, the majority were men. Geographically, people living in the East Midlands and Scotland were most likely to have a Will with those living in the North East being least likely.

The survey of 1,000 people from across the UK was conducted by London-based chartered accountants Perrys to raise awareness of the importance of having an up-to-date Will. It showed that 9% of those questioned felt it was too expensive to get a Will. And despite earning nearly twice the average annual wage, one in ten of these are taking home £40,000 per annum or more.

Other results revealed that nearly half would consider getting a Will if they could benefit from free, professional advice at home, with only a quarter wanting to discuss their Will by telephone, whilst a third would prefer to be contacted at their place of work.

Stewart Pope, who is CEO at Perrys, said:

“There still isn’t enough emphasis on the importance of having a Will in place whatever your age, income or assets.

“A Will should be seen as an insurance policy and can save your family a lot of heartache in the long-term should something unexpected happen. This is particularly important if you have children or live together, but aren’t married. Even if you are married there are still grey areas as to who will inherit your belongings.

“Not only does a Will legally determine the allocation of any assets you may have, but it will also clarify personal requests such as who will care for your children in the event of both parents’ deaths.  A Will can also help inheritance tax payments to be planned more efficiently and help to avoid costly and lengthy disputes amongst family members.“