Make a will

Making a will provides certainty regarding what happens to your property and possessions when you die. Having a valid will in place ensures that your wishes are respected and that your loved ones can benefit from your property.

If you die without a valid will in place, then there are rules which will automatically decide how your estate will be distributed. These are known as the intestacy rules but these rules may not provide for the people or organisations that you wish to benefit from your estate.

If you are based in an overseas jurisdiction then the prevailing rules will depend on the local laws and all relevant professional advice should be sought depending on your particular circumstances.

Anything that belongs to you, including physical possessions such as a house or land, personal possessions and money can be distributed under a will. By making sure your will is up-to-date and correctly drafted, you can ensure that such property is passed according to your intentions.

Equally, it’s important to remember that a will isn’t limited to the passing of physical or tangible property. Your rights in any songs or music recordings, royalty payments and other intellectual property can also be transferred by your will, ensuring that their value passes to the people you wish to receive it.

Intellectual property is any creation of the mind and can include for example, songs, master recordings, and other literary, dramatic, or artistic works. Depending on the nature of the intellectual property, it can be protected by copyright, patents, design rights, or trademarks.

Intellectual property is a commercial asset. This means it has value, can hold value, and can be transferred to a person of your choice under a will. If you are a musician, businessperson, artist or creative, then intellectual property may well be a commercially important part of your will. It may even be the most valuable part of your will.

Because intellectual property is a technical and complex concept, you need to make sure that your will is clearly drafted and deals with all of the legal rights that may relate to your intellectual property.

Copyright is a legal right that protects your work. Copyright prevents people from copying your work and taking a share of its value, whether by distributing copies of your work, performing, showing or playing your work, adapting it, or putting it on the internet.

Copyright exists from the moment of creation of sound and music recordings (and other literary, dramatic and artistic works).

There are different forms of copyright, including, for instance, the copyright in a master recording, and the copyright in a song itself. Copyright can be valuable and can be included as part of your will so as to provide for who should benefit from it after your death.

Copyright and intellectual property can be transferred in much the same way as any other property under a will. Usually, and most simply, they would be transferred as a gift to the person or people you choose to benefit.

However, it’s important that your will is drafted with certainty in mind. Because copyright and intellectual property can be legally complex, it is important to make sure that any gifts or transfers are precisely worded, so that transfer can take place without scope for argument.

The royalties that you receive, or are due to receive, can be transferred under your will. Royalty payments can be allocated to one person or can be split between multiple parties.

In drafting your will, you will need to be clear about which royalty payments go to who and any percentage distributions between each party.

Royalty payments may be time-limited, and this should be considered when drafting your will.

No. Royalty payments and the rights in the original work can be dealt with separately.

If you have the rights to a work (e.g. the publishing rights to a song, or the rights to a master recording) then these rights can be gifted under your will. As with any gift under a will, you’ll need to ensure any provisions regarding the transfer of rights are drafted accurately.

The royalties that you are entitled to as a result of the work can be thought of separately to the rights in the work itself. As a result, you would be free to allocate the rights in the work and the royalty payments to different people (or groups of people).

Again, precision and certainty are key concepts in ensuring that the will makes provision for the people you wish to benefit from your property. All relevant appropriate professional advice should be taken as this is a complex area.

As a registered charity we rely on the generosity of our supporters which is always greatly appreciated. If you are minded to do so there are a number of different ways that you could look to make provision for the PRS Members’ Fund. This is something that the will writer will be able to discuss with you when you make your will to consider the various options.

When making or updating your will it is recommended that you get professional advice from a solicitor. We are currently working with will writing service Farewill and media and entertainment law firm Simkins LLP, to offer help to you, as a PRS member, on how to make a will. Farewill provide a free will writing service. Simkins LLP can offer legal guidance and will preparation to those with international or more complex needs