Making A Will

[emmie]

can anyone advise on the Do it yourself Wills. I know where i can buy them, WH Smiths, are there any other outlets you can get them from. Are there any specific drawbacks to DIY wills.

[dzug2]

The main drawback is you will inadvertently do it wrong and the will will be invalid.

[emmie]

that didn't happen before with someone who made one, it isn't for me by the way.

[emmie]

going on previous experience going to see a solicitor can be very expensive.
so i am trying to save the person the time and the money in hiring one. She doesn't have a lot, but does need to make a will sooner than later.

[dzug2]

If it's done correctly it's a perfectly valid will.

[emmie]

apart from smiths do other outlets sell them do you know. I know it's valid as the o/h had one, it's for a relative.

[mccfluff]

i might of been dreaming but i'm positive i saw a DIYW kit in the post office the other day

[FredPuli43]

These forms, and most importantly the notes, vary a great deal in quality. Ask around the solicitors in your area, explain what is needed, and get a quote is my advice. Don't use a will-writing service. My late father used a bought form and the will was rejected for probate which caused a deal of trouble though we did manage to resolve the difficulty by finding a witness and having an affidavit sworn; in other circumstances the witnesses might not have been traceable.

What does the estate consist of? Are there any children,including adult ones? Do they have children? What happens if one child predeceases the testator? These, and many other questions, are what a solicitor will ask, all are important and not all will necessarily be covered by a will form and its notes. Considering what the solicitor will charge, against the value of even quite a small estate, the 'cheap way' may prove very expensive. And, above all, the solicitor is covered by insurance and by the professional governing body. You have nobody to complain about and get redress from if you do it yourself. No sensible lawyer writes his own will; there is a reason for that!

[emmie]

very likely, i have just looked on line, there are any number of sites giving advice, i am trying to save the person the expense of a solicitor, because going on previous experience the cost can be prohibitive.

[emmie]

if the person has less than say 5 grand, and no assets, no home ownership and very little by way of goods to dispense with, thought it best to go the easy route. If i told how you much someone i know spent on a solicitor it was like Jarndyce and Jarndyce, almost nothing left by the time the costs were taken

[FredPuli43]

What do you call "prohibitive" ?

[dzug2]

##i might have been dreaming but i'm positive i saw a DIYW kit in the post office the other day ##

It wouldn't have been the Post Office itself but some postmasters are known to sell them on the side - like they do other non-official items of stationery

Waterstones might be another place to try - can't recall if I've seen them there

[emmie]

prohibitive being massive costs in relation to the persons estate. For typing up a few letters and contacting banks where accounts were held. If you are going to get bills from a legal eagle for thousands yet the estate is only worth 5k or less, that is what i mean.

[woofgang]

what do you call prohibitive?
A good solicitor will find out what you want to happen to your estate and word the will accordingly rather than asking what you want put in the will, they can also supply safe storage for the original. The bloke who wrote ours was very helpful in talking about things we hadn't thought of.

[boxtops]

We just drafted our Wills then gave them to a solicitor to put into the correct format and terminology - it cost about eighty quid for both of us.

[emmie]

i already said it's not for me, but an elderly relative. who doesn't live near by.

[woofgang]

Wow, we got two wills (same disposition of estate) plus permanent safe storage and registration on the National Wills register for 250 quid. We had two meetings with the solicitor, and then when my DH passed and I went to collect the will, he spent time with me discussing what i should be doing and my options for assistance with it. In the end he did the stuff that would have been difficult for me on a fee per job basis, including some fairly complicated advice and actions involving foreign investments.
I thought, and still think, it was money well spent and made a difficult time much easier.

[emmie]

i have also advised the person to seek help from the CAB. They have legal people, just thought after the fairly straightforward matter before would ask on here.

[FredPuli43]

That's nonsense.You are never going to get a bill for thousands unless you employ the solicitor to be an executor or you employ one to carry out all the administration of the estate, when the solicitor will charge for the work and the time involved, as with hiring a solicitor in any work at the normal professional hourly rates. If he spends a lot of time sorting everything out, of course it may cost. You only want a will drafted.

Ask around. It should be no more than a matter of a few hundred at most. My own will, for an estate of some value and complexity, cost £300 a few years ago.

[FredPuli43]

I have just looked on the Oyez website. They print all kinds of forms for lawyers to use in bankruptcy to conveyancing and everything else.Amusingly I couldn't find any will forms. Probate and related Revenue forms, I could find but not will forms. What do Oyez know, that they don't offer one?

[Epona]

Em10 are you perhaps getting mixed up with the solicitors fees to make the Will and the Fees to Execute the Will? A solicitor should be able to provide a simple Will for under £100. He is not obliged to Execute ( simply give people what they are due in the Will) . A relative or friend can be named Executor and fill in the Probate forms. Your Relative could write down who and what she wants giving and go to the Solicitor to have it put in legal terms. if she is incapacitated then often a solicitor will come to her but that would cost more.