It has been found that nearly 60% of Britons have not yet written their will, meanwhile a fifth claim that they don't bother since they do not feel as though they are wealthy enough. Furthermore, one in four people who are over 55 in the UK have no will in place, according to reports from Westcountry Estate Planning.

If you do not have a will in place for when you pass away, you will essentially be leaving your final wishes in the hands of Government intestacy rules. So with almost 60% of people not having a will, these people will all be leaving their estate to the Government to disburse as they see fit.

Despite the average homeowner having over £214,000 worth of property, it is an interesting statistic that about a fifth of people simply don't feel they have enough wealth to merit bothering with a will or they have not taken enough time to consider what to do with their possessions when they die.

And despite it being the case that the age bracket most likely to have dependent children, only 32% of Britons between 35 and 54 have written up a will.

Naturally, the group which is least prepared with a will is those who are aged between 18 and 34. Only 17% of those have written up their final wishes.

Interestingly, statistics found that people who live in London (64%) and the North West (67%) are the least likely to create a will. This is an interesting find as the former will likely have the most expensive homes in the country. Meanwhile, adults situated in the North East (46%) are most likely to write up their will.

Why should you have a will in place?

Having a will in place can prevent money and your other assets such as property, jewellery and cars being given to the wrong people or those you do not wish your possessions to go to.

A will gives you choice over what possessions you allocate to which people such as your partner, children, friends or local charities. You can also choose how you would like to arrange your funeral, including burial vs cremation and song choices.

When it comes to creating a will, there are three main options for writing it up. You can do it yourself, use a will writing service or you can use a solicitor.

If you chose to write the will yourself, it will be the cheapest option but not always the best one. It does pay to seek out a professional solution in order to make sure that everything is in order and any further amendments have been officially recorded. If a will is written by yourself, you may find that it lacks substance and if your children are unhappy with what they are given, they have the right to contest it in court and this can lead to potentially family conflict.