Hi there,
Could anyone advise on the cheapest (even free!?) way to get our will down onto paper? Really straightforward stuff, nothing involved or awkward needs to be included in the will... Any web resorces / templates you can use for free?
Thanks!
Simon
You can get a "fill in the boxes" type kit from various sources, a good stationer will have one.
If you bank with Barclays, they do it for free.
I had a more complex one, local solicitor charded 70 quid.
Rick
There are many free resources on the web.
However, anyone who writes their own will is potentially asking for trouble.
It is not just simply a case of sticking down your assets and wishes on a piece of paper.
If you are to do the job properly, then you need to consider (amongst others) any potential inheritance claims against the estate and your position in relation to inheritance tax and inheritance pre-death tax planning arrangements.
If you make a mistake in the construction or execution of the will then you may find that the will is void. Your relatives could end up in the end of a very expensive legal action trying to rectify the mistakes. They could very easily end up giving your estate to the solicitors in legal fees to sort out the mess.
If someone does not have a very good understanding of the law in relation to inheritance then they are likely to make mistakes. When so much is at risk doesn't it make sense to get professional help?
Graham
The Consumers Association (Which?) used to do a book called "Wills and Probate" with lots of useful information. Probably still do. You may be able to borrow one from your local library.
If you think that writing a will is straightforward, then you do need professional advice. Even something like 'everything goes to my wife, or if she dies before me, everything goes to my child' is a minefield. It can take years to decide who died first if you are both killed in the same car accident.
Most banks offer a will writing service, which, depending upon the type of your account, may be free. However, the cost of having a solictor draw up a will is always going to be far less than the cost of having a solicitor sort out a badly constructed home-made will.
Colin Bignell
Why would this be a problem for the one who matters: the surviving child?
"nightjar .uk.com>"
I would advise against agreeing to appoint the solicitor as one of the executors, that will certainly add to the cost for the people you leave anything to. They push for it so beware. But yes, a properly drawn will is worth every penny.
Mary
>
Yes, because unless there's a will made by both parents one could be deemed to be intestate. It's just not worth trying to save the cost of a good night out.
Mary
Complete rubbish! It is well established law that in such a case the eldest person is deemed to have died first.
Only "free" if you appoint the bank an executor. In which case the costs when the will has to be aubmitted for probate will be very high indeed.
However, the cost of having a solictor draw up a
Very good advice. Spend a hundred quid or so and get the job done correctly.
Peter Crosland
minefield. It can
But what if somewhere else in the Will it wasn't clear what the wife wanted to happen to her estate when she dies, if the husband dies first (in the same RTA) then his assets etc. will have been left to his wife who then doesn't leave them to anyone else....
What if, since the Will was written, the couple has another child, which child gets all and which gets nothing ?
The most important thing about a Will, AIUI [1], is not what you list as your estate, goods or chattel but what words are used - just one loose word with a double meaning could hold up a Will for years at best and make the whole Will invalid at worst.
[1] as IANAL.In message , rrh writes
Lots of peoples wills will not be even that simple, and will often include payments to other family members, brothers cousins etc. this could be affected by who dies first.
For a will in this situation then I would concur with getting one drawn up properly, it really isn't that expensive.
With a small child in the equation it really pays to consider carefully what would happen if both parents were to both die. Ok you can consider who you would want as guardians, but there is also the issue of how the upbringing will be financed.
It's quite easy nowadays for the parents to end up with an estate of 1/2 million pounds or even a lot more, given house prices, life insurance, and other assets. What's to happen to all this, how is to be used for the child's benefit, now and in the future? It may mean some sort of trust fund. Dealing with these issues properly does want a solicitor.
minefield. It can
Even when there is documented proof that they died last? He didn't say 'at the same time', just as a result of the same accident.
Indeed, even as a result of the same accident, one might die a couple of weeks after the other.
One will I read had some words which I don't recall exactly, but basically said one partner had to survive the other by at least
30 days or for the purpose of the will, they were deemed to die together (which invoked a completely different set of clauses).
Because it is necessary to decide whether the wife inherited the estate before she died. If she did, it must be distributed in accordance with the terms of her will or, if she has not made one, according to the rules of intestacy. That will complicate getting probate granted and it could mean that the child does not get the inheritance intended. This is a fairly simple example of the sort of problem that is often overlooked in a DIY will.
Colin Bignell
Even if you assume that every such accident will result in a case of simultaneous death, which need not be the case, the procedure is to assume that each has pre-deceased the other. That results in there being two estates, which devolve onto the next of kin of each of the people concerned and that may well not be what they wanted.
Colin Bignell
My apologies if I have misunderstood what you meant. I assumed you were referring to the circumstances where is was impossible to determine who died first e.g a ship sinking with all the passengers drowning or a train crash in which parents and child were all found dead. You make the very valid point about rapid sucsession. All of which emphasises the need to have the job done professionally.
Peter Crosland
The other point is that if one dies soon after the other there could be two bites of the cherry for the Scotsman! :-( Another thing to consider is an enduring power of attorney. If one partner becomes incapable of making decisions then it resolves that problem. My will is set up that one has to survive the other by three months, also if one of us goes gaga the other can take control, if both, then two of our children have control. I reckon this effort will stop it happening. :-)
"nightjar .uk.com>"
Get it done via a solicitor, there a couple of "gotchas" in the DIY kits that cause great complications if the will is enforced.
Our solictor was currently processing a DIY will for for 3 kids who had been left their parents house as per some property act of 1996. Problem is this act doesn't allow property ownership decisions (ie to sell) by minors, this a £600/child court order was being undertaken to enable the executers of the will to sell the property. Any decent solicitor would have known this and included something to cope with this in the will.
I always understood that in such cases the older person was deemed to have died first.
The problem could well be inheritance tax: say you jointly own a house worth £400K: you die, spouse gets your share. I microsecond later they die leaving everything to the child. Nice IT liability as their estate is over the threshold. If your will is written that you leave everything to your spouse as long as they survive you by 28 days, failing that it goes to the child, your half goes to the child tax free, then your spouse's do. (for this to work you need to be tenants in common not joint tenants IIRC).
If there's nothing unusual, then don't make a will at all. The intestacy rules are pretty logical. However, take a look at
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