Leaving Personal Possessions in a Will

Chattels generally means personal, movable possessions, such as jewellery, furniture, cars, art, tools, and household items, as opposed to property, money or investments. A will can leave chattels individually, in groups, or as a whole to one or more people.

Some possessions carry more sentimental than financial value, and it is often these items, rather than the largest assets, that cause disagreement between family members if they are not addressed clearly.

You can leave named items to named people directly in the will, for example a particular ring to a daughter or a watch to a son. This works well for a small number of significant items but can make the will cumbersome if you try to list everything you own.

Alternatively, you can leave your chattels generally, for example to be divided between your children as they agree between themselves, or to pass to your spouse or a particular beneficiary as part of a wider gift. This is simpler to draft but relies on beneficiaries reaching agreement amicably.

A letter of wishes is a separate, informal document that sits alongside your will and sets out your preferences for smaller or more numerous items, such as who should have particular pieces of jewellery, books, or keepsakes. It is not legally binding in the way a will is, but executors and beneficiaries will normally follow it out of respect for your wishes.

The advantage of a letter of wishes is that it can be updated easily, without the formality of changing the will itself, which is useful if your possessions or your preferences change over time.

If you specifically name an item in your will and later sell it, give it away, or lose it, that particular gift simply fails, known as ademption, because the item no longer exists in your estate. This does not usually affect the rest of the will.

It is worth reviewing specific gifts of possessions from time to time, particularly after downsizing, a house move, or significant changes to what you own, to check the gifts still make sense.

Even everyday personal possessions need to be valued as part of the estate for probate, though modest household items are usually given a reasonable estimated value rather than a formal appraisal. Items of significant worth, such as valuable jewellery, art or antiques, may need a professional valuation, particularly if the estate is close to the inheritance tax threshold.

Executors should keep a simple written record of how possessions were valued and divided, since this protects them if a beneficiary later questions whether the division was fair.

Disputes over personal possessions are surprisingly common, often because family members attach sentimental value that has little to do with the item's financial worth. Vague wording, such as leaving belongings to be divided as the family sees fit, can leave room for disagreement if there is no agreed process for choosing who gets what.

Setting out a clear method, such as taking turns to choose items, or using a letter of wishes to record specific preferences, tends to reduce friction considerably compared with leaving the division entirely open-ended.