Will writing advice.

[Beebo]

I need a will, for my wife and two kids.
I'm not going to go down the DIY route, so i need to pay someone.
What are the best options for this. Do i go to a solicitor or a will writing company?
They seem to offer packages at various prices, but what am i getting for the money and what is best value, now and in the future?

 

[Profpointy]

1 buy a book
2 write out draft
3 get solicitor to top and tail it, and explain all the signing stuff.
(Get them to email copy in word, so you don't have go retype it yourself if doing again)


Once you've had it done once, you can easily edit it yourself, and get a new one signed without paying out - if it's just changing details. If serious changes eg new children, cuttlng out ex-mrs etc, then probably solicitr route again.

I'd not go the will writing service route - i did first time round, and basically they knew less about wills than i did, although will was just about ok to be fair.

Regarding solicitor, go for personal recommendation.

Read book first, so you can spot if solicitor is bulshitting you eg to tie you in to them being executors or whatever.

 

[Beebo]

.

Read book first, so you can spot if solicitor is buls***ting you eg to tie you in to them being executors or whatever.

That is the bit i am worried about, we had a will writing company come round to explain what they did, they wanted to charge £500 but offered some sort of "free" storage and update service. I just didnt understand why i needed the extra stuff.

 

[buggi]

don't buy a book and don't use a will writing service. Go to a solicitor regulated by the law society. they will probably have a fixed fee service anyway, and it will be done properly, witnessed with little chance of anyone contesting it actually winning. Do not underestimate how crap and ambiguous wills can be, and easily contestable, when either DIY or done by a will writing company.

 

[laurence]

solicitor

will writers can be variable, but i wouldn't go to one and i deal with probate matters for work.

go to a solicitor that has probate/will experience. you can look on the law society website for ones near you.

a solicitor won't guarantee that there won't be problems, but at least there is recourse should they mess up... will writers can just walk away.

some charities have free wills services through solicitors, but the scheme ends at the end of november!

 

[laurence]

some advice here...

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matters/legal-issues/making-a-will/

http://www.redcross.org.uk/Donate-Now/Leave-a-legacy/How-we-can-help-you

 

[Banjo]

If you are a member of some trade unions you can get one done by a solicitor for free.Worth asking if you are.

 

[Profpointy]

don't buy a book and don't use a will writing service. Go to a solicitor regulated by the law society. they will probably have a fixed fee service anyway, and it will be done properly, witnessed with little chance of anyone contesting it actually winning. Do not underestimate how crap and ambiguous wills can be, and easily contestable, when either DIY or done by a will writing company.

Whilst I agree on solicitor, but can't quite understand "don't buy a book" - that's just silly to actuallly want to be ill informed.

I'd also not see a problem with diy from a book if, and only if, affairs straightforward.
A book will explain what is "straightforward" in this context

My solicitor charged me hundred and something, for a straightforward will - but I did need "advice" so not unhappy paying.

 

[fossyant]

A solicitor will do one for just a few hundred quid.

 

[swee'pea99]

Whilst I agree on solicitor, but can't quite understand "don't buy a book" - that's just silly to actuallly want to be ill informed.

I'd also not see a problem with diy from a book if, and only if, affairs straightforward.
A book will explain what is "straightforward" in this context

My solicitor charged me hundred and something, for a straightforward will - but I did need "advice" so not unhappy paying.

Absolutely. Inform yourself for starters. Beyond that, it all depends. If it's straightforward, and there's no chance of anyone trying to contest anything, costly 'expertise' may well be unnecessary. If it's not simple, more help would be needed. But start off by reading a decent book. The Consumer Association do good books for all those sorts of things. (The 'Which' bunch.)

 

[Berties]

Depends on what you want and your financial position,a will writer will cost £100 ish and basic will to get through probate ,or if you are looking for amore complex document as we did ,to involve asset splitting and financial advice to avoid paying inheritance tax go through a solicitor the cost higher but out weighs what you could pay in inheritance tax,but we have still had a problem with a solicitor not filing properly!

 

[Pale Rider]

I need a will, for my wife and two kids.

Simple enough for a competent solicitor, but finding one of those could be difficult.

If it really is just is the wife and children, then dying intestate wouldn't be so bad.

Your stuff automatically goes to your next of kin, and the good thing about the Intestacy Rules is they apply automatically and, realistically, cannot be challenged.

 

[ASC1951]

A solicitor will do one for just a few hundred quid.

Much less than that for a straightforward will, IME. We used to charge £90+vat, or £150+vat for mirror wills.
I wouldn't use a will writer. The quality varies hugely, they aren't vastly cheaper, they are often uninsured and they usually don't have adequate arrangements for storage.

 

[MontyVeda]

I agree with pale rider on this... think about what happens to your estate if you don't have a Will... will this be significantly different if you do get a Will written?

My parents don't have a Will for this very reason.

If the sensible option is to get a will written, go to a local solicitor, preferably recommended by a friend or relative... avoid typing 'will writer mytown' in to google and finding one that way.

 

[ASC1951]

I agree with pale rider on this... think about what happens to your estate if you don't have a Will... will this be significantly different if you do get a Will written?

My parents don't have a Will for this very reason.

Flowchart link here http://www.tollers.co.uk/system/docs/178/original/Rules of Intestacy Flowchart.pdf picking one firm at random. But you still need a Will if you want to make any specific gifts, for instance, which many people do. And one advantage of making a Will is that it stops people having to write to everyone in town if they don't know whether you did or not.