What Property Can You Leave By Will? – Jewellery
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Want to make a start on your will?
Making a Will is not about wealth it is about making sure that what you want to happen to your estate does happen. It gives you the opportunity to specify such things as who will administer your estate, who will care for your children and who will receive specific items of your property.
Most women, and increasingly a lot of men, have items of jewellery such as rings that they wish to pass to specific beneficiaries. Again, this may seem a simple word but what does it cover?Clearly it covers diamond necklaces, earrings and wedding rings but is a watch to be included? An eighteenth century case reached the conclusion that it wasn’t but whether that would necessarily apply today is debatable.
Is a watch just a practical item or is it for adornment? It might well be argued that a watch is now a fashion item in many instances; certainly it can be a status symbol. Suppose you mounted a coin or something similar into a ring or a necklace?Does a shark’s tooth on a lanyard count? It would appear that ‘personal jewellery’ may be construed as meaning only those items used or worn personally by the deceased. If so, where does the current fashion for nose studs and other body piercing leave us?Are these to be considered items of jewellery and would anyone actually appreciate being bequeathed them? It may be best to leave a list of specific items in the will or, perhaps, to leave your jewellery box and the entire contents to one person.
If you decide to leave your jewellery box and contents to be divided between your daughters you should add that the decision of your executors as to who receives what is final and binding on all parties. If you wish the division to result in all parties receiving items to approximately the same value you should say so.