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i need a will. should i do a DIY one or pay for one doing.
idea's and thoughts please.
Some charities will do you one for free if you leave them a legacy.
A recent conversation I had with my solicitor, paraphrased,
"My will is easy, it all goes to my partner, I have no other dependents."
Her response, then a care home can take your house.
This then spawns a 'turtles all the way down' argument. It goes to my partner; what if she's dead? Well, it goes to her kids I suppose; what if they're dead? Uh. Charity?
If you in any way care about what happens to your estate after you pass, I'd pay someone who knows what loopholes look like.
Contact WillAid
They'll help you create one via a local legal company for a small fee (donated to their charity)
Two pertinent points -
How complicated are your finances?
How many vultures are circling overhead?
If the answer is easy and few respectively, diy, if not do not. Bear in mind that your initial estimations of what is easy, and how many are few, might not accord with reality.
Yup pay someone to hide your assets
And avoid paying for your future care and let the taxpayer look after you.
How do you protect your estate these days? As I understand it the main loophole of giving the house to your dependents and paying a peppercorn rent to stay there has been effectively been closed with the requirement to pay a fair market rent which is taxable.
Have you anything worth leaving AND care who actually gets it?
If yes, then get it done by someone who knows what they are doing IMO.
Some charities will do you one for free if you leave them a legacy.
There is no obligation to leave a legacy, they will just ask if you want to.
Did ours through a solicitor. Ours is straightforward, just us and the kids, but was first done after eldest was born, so had to look at who got the kids if we both suddenly died, then had to be updated after the intended guardian emigrated. Probably needs updating again now eldest is hitting 18.
Care costs and the "what if they've already died" questions need exploring with an expert.
Power of attorney also needs to be considered, MrsMC having a mare with this now her parents have suddenly gone from living independently to needing to be in care over the last year.
You're not sorting it out for you, you are sorting it out for whoever has to deal with it when you're gone. Make sure they know your wishes.
This then spawns a ‘turtles all the way down’ argument. It goes to my partner; what if she’s dead? Well, it goes to her kids I suppose; what if they’re dead? Uh. Charity?
This still isn't a complex will though. It simply means you write in the cascade of beneficiaries "if they're dead, it goes to....".
It gets complex if you want to leave allowances or stuff in trust.
If you know and trust your executor(s) and beneficiaries then I think a very simple will setting out your wishes is unlikely to cause problems. I'm pretty sure the "must spend a night in a haunted house" clause that I drunkenly added to my own will some years ago is not legally enforceable but I expect my executors to try...
If it's basic then diy shouldn't be a problem. For example, everything goes to spouse or split equally amongst surviving children.
I paid to get a simple one done years ago and it was a bout £250 with a solicitor. The will writing part was straight forward but I wanted to talk through other complicated options. The other bonus was that I named the solicitors as executors.
I did my dad's estate as an executor a few years ago. It was a straight forward transfer to my mum. Having an independent named can make things easier for people as depending on who you name they might not be in a great place for sorting stuff out like this.
I left a letter with my will that spells out wider wishes that probably aren't legally enforceable. I also sent copies and discussed with executors.
@ton - The Company I work for use Farewill for any clients who need a will setting up.
I have used them myself and it was simple to do and they know what they are doing, guided through the options over the phone, and sent out in the post.
The telephone option is worth the extra few quid over the online option in my experience.
https://farewill.com/wills/pricing
When my dad died in October his will was recent, clear and made things really simple to get sorted. Solicitor who he did it with provided original and certified copies, nothing to contest or debate due to this.
Virtually everything wrapped up within a month, couple of minor things open due to terrible service from the company rather than anything else.
Worth every penny it cost.
This still isn’t a complex will though. It simply means you write in the cascade of beneficiaries “if they’re dead, it goes to….”.
I know it's not a complex will, to my mind it couldn't be simpler. Point is, the solicitor came up with a bunch of stuff that hadn't even entered my head. It might be straight forward to "write in a cascade of beneficiaries" but you have to know that you need to do that.
Ours was pretty basic - we paid a few hundred quid when eldest_oab was born to get one drawn up. It was so simple I wondered why we had paid...
When we moved to Scotland (who have different rules around these things) and realised we had not added the youngest, I downloaded a Scottish will example with Power of Attorney for £20 or something.
We've got custody of kids under 18 explained, executors of the will, lasting power of attorney and how the last few pence of our estate can be split between the lads.
It's really not complex unless you've got some odd complex financial arrangement/companies/trusts etc.
@cougar you're right of course, you need to know the simple requirements to be confident enough to DIY. Solicitors have for years been having a laugh with this little earner. The internet has helped massively in breaking the model. Naming them as executors is (imho having executed a few wills and dealing with solicitors on others) writing them a blankish cheque for spurious expenses. One I took to the Legal Ombudsman and won.
If you in any way care about what happens to your estate after you pass, I’d pay someone who knows what loopholes look like.
Have you anything worth leaving AND care who actually gets it?
If yes, then get it done by someone who knows what they are doing IMO.
Hmmm. Not so sure about this. In common with many their age my parents got a professional to do their will. Usual trust thing that people did at the time to give half the main house to the kids but let the spouse live in it.
No idea what it cost to make, but my mum got a bill of either £19,000 or £29,000 when my dad died to unwind the dick Ng mess that they had created.
Would have been a jolly site easier, quicker and cheaper if no "professionals" had got involved
We paid a solicitor who specialises in wills £250. It took her one hour.
If we had done it ourselves with the internet, it would have looked exactly the same and cost £0.
However, we didn't know that for sure until we did it. What's £250 when sorting out something as potentially complex?
Its the interweb...
Its a niche cycling forum on the interweb...
Good for whingeing about politics and how to put the world to rights - and the occasional question about bleeding brakes, not sure i'd be following it for advice about my legacy.
Go to a solicitor and get it done right
Her response, then a care home can take your house.
A Will cant stop this. The Care home doesnt take your house but you will likely have to sell it to pay for care costs. Unless you can pay for care out of savings etc. Once sold the proceeds will be used to pay for care until you end up with a small amount which you can keep and the local authority will then pick up the care costs until you die.
Power of attorney also needs to be considered,
Not as part of a Will. That is a separate process. Easy enough to do yourself just a faff getting witness signatures during lockdown when you live in different parts of the country but not difficult.
Following this.
You'll only know the 'cost' of a will, when someone has died.
My FIl died with a 'professional' Will, all very smooth except for one hiccup created by my BIL. We all learned from that, and my MIL changed hers to ensure it couldn't happen again.
My Dad put everything in place before hand, and his simple - "all to my wife" Will worked fine.
I've got a Will, paid for - hopefully it'll all be easy for whoever is dealing with it.
As ever I will declare my interest at the start. I own a Will writing firm and am on the professional standards board of the Society of Will Writers. I have been doing Wills for almost 16 years.
Get your Will done professionally, don't do your own. I was part of the Legal Services Board consumer panel that researched the quality of wills and advice a few years back (2014). We found that professionally written wills went through Probate without issue 97% of the time, home made around 37%.
The people who have said that you find out the true cost of your Will after you die are right. Home made wills equals more fees for us to sort out the mess.
There will be stuff you haven't thought about, there could be Inheritance Tax issues, worries about care costs and protection g your assets. Making sure your kids get what you leave rather than their step mum or step dad.
An hour or so of your time and a couple of hundred quid will give you and your family peace of mind. It is well worth it.
Don't ever be tempted to put a solicitor or will writing firm in as your executor, as others have said you are effectively writing a blank cheque. This is a definite last resort.
The free Will offers are often a sprat to catch a mackerel, you sign up for a free Will and end up paying thousands for a family trust. Charity offers are generally OK though.
Blatant Plug -
If you want a chat get in touch with a message on here or via my website www.will-probate.co.uk.
Hope that helps
Nick.