Pay for a Will?
Discussion
I don’t have a will, I want one. I don’t want to participate in free will month cos I don’t want to feel obligated or pressured to leave some to the charity. I will only need a simple will, I don’t have convoluted circumstances.
Next month (November) is Will Aid month which is a bit similar but you pay a voluntary contribution (usually £100). I’m thinking that will be better. I was also wondering if ultimately it would be best to actually just use one of the solicitors that cooperate with Will Aid, and use them independently ie pay as a normal service.
Also can anyone reassure me, I have a fear of being ripped off ie they will want to persuade me to put them down as the power of attorney / or they charge me for storing my will or some b
ks. As someone with no experience in this area, what’s the reality?
Or do I buy an online whsmiths DIY will?
Next month (November) is Will Aid month which is a bit similar but you pay a voluntary contribution (usually £100). I’m thinking that will be better. I was also wondering if ultimately it would be best to actually just use one of the solicitors that cooperate with Will Aid, and use them independently ie pay as a normal service.
Also can anyone reassure me, I have a fear of being ripped off ie they will want to persuade me to put them down as the power of attorney / or they charge me for storing my will or some b
ks. As someone with no experience in this area, what’s the reality?Or do I buy an online whsmiths DIY will?
Is a big part of the decision not going to be complexity and size of estate? If you have no children and a bank account that is more red than black, then a DIY will doesn't seem like a big risk. Whereas if you have been through three marriages with a collection of dependents and are a powerfully built director of multiple business with overseas interests and a property empire ... a free will could turn out to be really expensive for your dependents ...
CoolHands said:
I don t have a will, I want one. I don t want to participate in free will month cos I don t want to feel obligated or pressured to leave some to the charity. I will only need a simple will, I don t have convoluted circumstances.
Next month (November) is Will Aid month which is a bit similar but you pay a voluntary contribution (usually £100). I m thinking that will be better. I was also wondering if ultimately it would be best to actually just use one of the solicitors that cooperate with Will Aid, and use them independently ie pay as a normal service.
Also can anyone reassure me, I have a fear of being ripped off ie they will want to persuade me to put them down as the power of attorney / or they charge me for storing my will or some bks. As someone with no experience in this area, what s the reality?
Or do I buy an online whsmiths DIY will?
As previous reply if your affairs / assets are relatively straightforward then the issue becomes less of one. Next month (November) is Will Aid month which is a bit similar but you pay a voluntary contribution (usually £100). I m thinking that will be better. I was also wondering if ultimately it would be best to actually just use one of the solicitors that cooperate with Will Aid, and use them independently ie pay as a normal service.
Also can anyone reassure me, I have a fear of being ripped off ie they will want to persuade me to put them down as the power of attorney / or they charge me for storing my will or some b
ks. As someone with no experience in this area, what s the reality?Or do I buy an online whsmiths DIY will?
However POA or these days LPA ( Lasting Power Of Attorney ) power has nothing to do with will making as that ceases when the donor dies.
If you are thinking of Executor then each will should indeed name one ( you can have more than one ) as the person /s responsible for executing their affairs post death.
Ideally this should be a capable family member or a very trusted friend - Solicitors can indeed take this role but personally I wouldn’t advise it as their fees can be excessive.
Usually a solicitor will / may charge for storage but usually s small amount.
Don’t forget that said will is a very important document and a copy will not suffice for probate.
There are other options ie there are will writing companies who generally will charge a lot less than Solicitors and are also neutral.
The original will, and not a copy is crucial.
I prefer the idea of storing the will yourself, but then my mum did that and got burgled, and they stole the will - and mum never told us. So now we retrying to do probate for her but without a will.
The firm she used to write the will went out of business, and non of their paperwork survived, so even if they had stored it, then we'd still be without the will. They didn't register it on the National Will Register either, but then that is next to useless because all they do when asked (for about £100) is search their database and then if they find a record (not the will) they ask the will writing company to contact you.
Even if the original will exists, if It can't be found then you are stumped.
In short, the executor/beneficiary will need to be able to get their hands on the original signed will.
I prefer the idea of storing the will yourself, but then my mum did that and got burgled, and they stole the will - and mum never told us. So now we retrying to do probate for her but without a will.
The firm she used to write the will went out of business, and non of their paperwork survived, so even if they had stored it, then we'd still be without the will. They didn't register it on the National Will Register either, but then that is next to useless because all they do when asked (for about £100) is search their database and then if they find a record (not the will) they ask the will writing company to contact you.
Even if the original will exists, if It can't be found then you are stumped.
In short, the executor/beneficiary will need to be able to get their hands on the original signed will.
Just for clarity, assuming you have say 2 kids and you die, isn’t the default just to split it any way?
Ie. What does the Will give you if you just want the equal split any way?
Of course it’s nice to cover off random bases like you all die in a tragic air accident or something, but in reality very unlikely and it’s not like you’ll care at that point.
Ie. What does the Will give you if you just want the equal split any way?
Of course it’s nice to cover off random bases like you all die in a tragic air accident or something, but in reality very unlikely and it’s not like you’ll care at that point.
Here you go:
https://www.freewills.co.uk/
As above, for a large estate or complex arrangements, get specialist advise.
Your pension and life insurance are separate, and you will attach you wishes to those directly.
https://www.freewills.co.uk/
As above, for a large estate or complex arrangements, get specialist advise.
Your pension and life insurance are separate, and you will attach you wishes to those directly.
CubanPete said:
Here you go:
https://www.freewills.co.uk/
As above, for a large estate or complex arrangements, get specialist advise.
Your pension and life insurance are separate, and you will attach you wishes to those directly.
We used this a year or so ago. https://www.freewills.co.uk/
As above, for a large estate or complex arrangements, get specialist advise.
Your pension and life insurance are separate, and you will attach you wishes to those directly.
I would agree that if you have complicated relationships (present and past), complex business holdings or assets, then go seek good advice.
I should add that we had wills written over 20 years ago, so we re able to compare some of the wording, but it wasn’t too tricky in our situation.
Oh, & I would be very wary of gifting to charity. Once a charity has a sniff that they are to benefit, then they have been known to hound executors to sort it out, & I wouldn’t wish that on our executors. Sure, feel free to leave an “expression of wish” for something to be left to X, Y, Z, but leave it to the beneficiaries: have that chat whilst you are alive.
Edited by mikeiow on Wednesday 15th October 23:17
I originally had mirror wills drawn up for free but the solicitors were the executors as part of the deal. Having dealt with my mother's £4.50 WH Smith she did DIY several years ago I decided actioning the will is fairly strightforward and doesn't need solicitors charging expensive fees especially if they're a percentage of the estate. The probate office had no issues with the WH Smith will other than the two pages weren't 'bound' together - top tip if it's only two pages print on single A4 double sided.
A few years back I used the Army Benevolent Fund free service when they offered it to replace what we already had. An online series of questions that then self populates the document which then gets checked (presumably by someone) before you can then print it off and and get the witnessess and do the signatures. There was no requirement to leave money to ABF or any other charity if you didn't want to.
Standard mirror wills, left to each other if surviving, otherwise to our daughter. I'd no wish to over complicate matters.
A few years back I used the Army Benevolent Fund free service when they offered it to replace what we already had. An online series of questions that then self populates the document which then gets checked (presumably by someone) before you can then print it off and and get the witnessess and do the signatures. There was no requirement to leave money to ABF or any other charity if you didn't want to.
Standard mirror wills, left to each other if surviving, otherwise to our daughter. I'd no wish to over complicate matters.
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