I think we were all a little taken aback when we heard recently of the news of Prince’s untimely death and then we hear that the multi- millionaire singer super star surprisingly did not write a will. This made me think how strange a concept, how could a famous songwriter and performer write thousands of songs and accumulate so much wealth without being aware he needed to make a will. Surely his team of legal and financial advisers would have explained this important area of financial planning but for whatever reason there is no will which leaves now his surviving relatives with the nightmare of resolving his financial affairs.

So exactly how common is the absence of will writing? Well amongst the rich and famous this may be an unusual case however, amongst the general public this is probably quite common as we all like to think we will live to a ripe old age and so have plenty of time to plan for the eventuality. So most probably this is what happened in Prince’s case, being just the age of 57 he had no plans on dying quite so soon. And solicitors say this is the reason that clients do not make wills, they shy away from them having this irrational fear that even the mere mention of planning their estate after they have gone will bring on an early death. Surely the prospect and imaginable hassle for family of dying intestate would be motivation enough but it seems that we do put these things off until later on in life or perhaps in some cases too late.

Intestacy laws in England & Wales are not really designed to cope with modern day families or rising property values, reinstating the importance to write a will knowing that your wishes will be carried out as you would want and achieve the best overall estate worth. So what’s your first move if you haven’t already written a will? To appoint an executor who could be a family friend or professional and ideally approach a solicitor to have the will drawn up which should cost in the region of £300-£500 depending on the financial arrangements. You can of course buy these will writing kits or leave a legacy to charities who will then offer a free will writing service. Writing your will does involve some searching questions, time and thought but time well spent I think.

This article does not provide individual financial advice and are the views of the columnist only. Vision Independent Financial Planning Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.