Writing a will

You brought up children without bothering to write a will already? Wow.

Yes, just write it and sign it. Would be a good idea to let others know where it is. If you use a solicitor (it’s not expensive) they will also be able to hold a copy.

Presume Mrs WCA has one too?

One thing to consider if both your wills say all to the other half or kids that could lead to inheritance tax for the kids eventually.

You could consider saying my share of the house goes to the kids, other chattels all go to partner. 50% of the house may therefore be under the IHT threshold, rather than when the surviving partner dies 100% maybe over it. Also if half is already vested with the kids, the amount of the property that can be claimed for care home fees is reduced.

^^ there is no his half of the property if it's owned as joint beneficial tenants, it belongs to both of the owners as a whole. When WCA inevitably does himself in (🙂) then the property belongs to his wife. It may not be as simple as you think WCA, we had ours done by an "expert" and I felt it was worth the outlay.

Hmmm... We keep thinking about wills, but don't own a house and they'd likely not thank us for the old zafira. We actually don't even have life insurance any more 😱

Worth doing properly with expert advice in my experience.

would you pull your own teeth ? or mend your own smashed ankle ?

go to a local solicitor and get it done proper. imho.

would you pull your own teeth ? or mend your own smashed ankle ?

go to a local solicitor and get it done proper. imho.

Depends how much fighting you think there will be by your beneficiaries, I suppose. Mine is pretty basic and almost certainly not legally watertight, but it explains what I want to happen. But I'll be dead, so I won't care.

The interesting thing is if die intestate with your beneficiaries named but on a DIY or dubiously-written will. Whether HMRC would fight this in court to obtain the full estate is something I hadn't considered.

would you pull your own teeth ? or mend your own smashed ankle ?

I'm bored enough to watch

Thinking of it in a DIY sense - you want to DIY it because you see it as simple - simple for who? Just for you writing the will or for everyone? Your will is document for other people to use after you're dead - how difficult or easy that makes things for them in what for them will already be quite an emotional time depends a lot on how well the will was written - and 'simple' for you might not be simple for them if you've left important things unsaid.

A lot of people thing of their 'estate' in terms of just finances and capital assets. But you make quite a lot of art - more than you sell. So there are a lot of things as part of your estate thats are special - particular to you and your memory. But theres likely more of them than all your family together have wall space for. Who gets what? Whats the right thing to do with anything thats surplus once everyone has your artwork on their walls and more importantly who takes charge of that?  This is stuff with emotional baggage attached thats going to have to be managed by people who are grieving.  The simple thing for you to say is its a free for all - the reality of that for everyone to deal with after you're dead is potentially pretty horrible.

There is already some incorrect advice on this thread. I'm not going to comment on the specifics other than to say pay a solicitor to do it. They will also be able to advise on inheritance tax etc. It's a few hundred quid against 100s of thousands of estate and there is no way to correct once you are dead if you've ****ed it up

would you pull your own teeth ? or mend your own smashed ankle ?

You’ve seen who the OP is!!? 🤣🤣

the simplest will recognised by the courts was unwitnessed and written on an envelope " all to mum" or so I was told but that needed a court hearing

Mrs TJs will was done by a lawyer but it was simply all to TJ and she left me instructions as to what I was to give to others.  I gave away 10% of the cash I got

MIne is going to be fairly complex but will be done on the basis of % shares to a variety of folk and charities.  The broad detail will be in the legal will and the small considerations ( like who gets my trolls 🙂 ) will be in a note to executors not as a part of the official will.

The broad detail will be in the legal will and the small considerations ( like who gets my trolls 🙂 )

You own JHJ and Kt360 etc?

You own JHJ and Kt360 etc?

Makes you think....

Get a solicitor to do it. Yes, goes to your wife and then kids. What if one or more pre-decease you? Grandkids? Nieces? Godchildren? At what point do you run out of options and it goes to the dogs home?

And seeing how long it has taken MrsMC and her brothers to track down and sort out various shares and investments to pull the estate together (18 months and counting), while all working full time, seriously consider getting the solcitors as executors. Put a value on your family's time when they are dealing with a lot of emotion. He was a retired PE teacher ffs, not a billionaire.

You own JHJ and Kt360 etc?

yes

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/3176/2920571243_e2acc8ddb9_k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/3176/2920571243_e2acc8ddb9_k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/5s5G5B ]Trolls[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/25846484@N04/ ]TandemJeremy[/url], on Flickr

If you DIY at least make sure it's registered.

Personally I've got a very simple will much like yours that was drawn up by a solicitor in about 2004. Cost was about £200 so similar to a minor service for the car. I don't DIY car servicing either - I could but my local garage is better at it and has the right tools.

It's also worth considering Lasting Power of Attorney (both health and property). Get multiple certified copies so that you can provide it to all your banks / shares / care home etc. If the worst should happen and you become seriously ill but don't die it'll make it much easier for your wife or children (depending on who you give LPOA to). The attorney has to act in your interest and can only act if you lack capacity so it's just insurance.

^ there is no his half of the property if it’s owned as joint beneficial tenants, it belongs to both of the owners as a whole.

Yes if joint tenants but not tenants in common, henece olddog is correct- a solicitor is best for full advice on this.

Again you make think your will is “simple” but they may highlight issues a lay person can overlook.

What’s happens to the kids if you both die at the same time?

Check with your employer as you may have will writing as part of your benefits.

As others have said for a few hundreds now, it’ll make things easier at a time when life decides very difficult.

You brought up children without bothering to write a will already? Wow.

What's the issue?

There is already some incorrect advice on this thread. I’m not going to comment on the specifics

Agreed, this post does indeed contain so much wrrong:

One thing to consider if both your wills say all to the other half or kids that could lead to inheritance tax for the kids eventually.

You could consider saying my share of the house goes to the kids, other chattels all go to partner. 50% of the house may therefore be under the IHT threshold, rather than when the surviving partner dies 100% maybe over it.

It’s also worth considering Lasting Power of Attorney (both health and property). Get multiple certified copies so that you can provide it to all your banks / shares / care home etc. If the worst should happen and you become seriously ill but don’t die it’ll make it much easier for your wife or children (depending on who you give LPOA to). The attorney has to act in your interest and can only act if you lack capacity so it’s just insurance.

Very much this, pretty much as soon as you've got a share of a house/tenancy/account with someone.

I'd get it drawn up properly.
For example..as it stands
You died, wife gets it all. Wife re marries and subsequently dies.. New husband could get it all?

Be wary of leaving everything to old (or equallyish old) people (*people whose house/assets may be used to pay for care).

I was told to leave specific amounts to charities (*as opposed to %)

And yes poa - both (financial and health).

See also https://mydecisions.org.uk/dashboard, read up on Advance decision and advance statements.

Did a free will with one of the wildlife charities for me and her.

We're We're intending to leave some to charities anyway so this worked out a good fair way for all

My mate is a will writer if you're thinking of getting some help to do it rather than diy

What’s the issue?

Well, one issue is what happens to the kids if both parents die in a car crash. Another is what happens if one parent dies, the other remarries, and then dies.

A solicitor isn't expensive and I agree with the suggestion to use one.

Have a look on money saving expert, they have some guides about the various ways of doing it.

IME it was well worth getting it done professionally, for the small fee it cost (we went via the co op solicitors) as they asked us lots of things we hadn't thought about.

The % to a party is a right pain. The executor will need to get the estate valued to the satisfaction of the parties inheriting. That will cost lots and be a pain if anyone makes a fuss (as a charity will). Much easier to say £5k to Cats Protection. £20k to each of my children and the rest to my spouse, if my spouse is not alive to remaining descendants, if no descendants to Cats Protection.

Your charities / spouses / offspring may vary.

for me % is best.  I am as sure as I can be that no one will contest i believe.  All the beneficiaries are going to be getting money they don't expect

Noted the stuff about charities tho and I have heard that before so they will get a flat amount

.

I was just about to clarify again but note you saw the previous clarification 🙂

I'm in an odd situation really with this.  I have no kids or dependents.  I also inherited 90% of Julies assets ( I was told by her to distribute 10% so I have done as per her request.)  Seeing as we are talking about wills I'll be interested to see what you think.

In my mind half of the assets I have are really hers and thus when I die half of my estate should go into her family ( or at least a significant chunk)

JUlie had 2 brothers and a sister, and 13 nieces and nephews, 17 greatnieces and nephews.  I have two nephews both of whom are better off than I am ( income wise if not asset)   Some of Julies family she was closer to than others.  I have asked her family for a complete list of who everyone is as I have never been able to grasp it.  One brothers family have done so.  The other brothers and sisters family have not.  I'm really struggling to work out what is fair here.  Most of Julies family are comfortably off but two of her great nieces are in a tougher place . I sent them a few hundred after Julie died and they were so grateful and so nice I feel fondly towards them the rest of the kids she was close to got a hundred.  the ones she was not close to got nowt.  There are also some friends kids she was very close to who will get a share as well

Its a fairly large sum of money in total if I die as I own two properties.  I'm just stuggling to work out what is fair and right!  None of the folk I want to give money to actually have any real expectation bar my nephews and I am buggered if they are gong to be rich because I have died.  My sister is more asset rich than I am

Thoughts?

Thoughts?

https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/4006550

Give the lot to charity?

I have a charity Julie and I supported - a small one where the money we had to give makes a differnce

None of the folk I want to give money to actually have any real expectation bar my nephews and I am buggered if they

Yeah - funny one what’s fair- equal share , only to those that need it, ignore those that didn’t send Christmas cards?

This is where solicitors help- if you stipulate £x/% to a,b,c others not listed may contest.

I think Peter Sellars had in his will something like £100 to each child (from 1st marriage) and the rest to current wife.

His kids tried to contest it but because they were named in the will then that was his wish. IIRC if he hadn’t named them they may have had an option to challenge it.

Julie and i were not married.  I think that means her side of the family have no call on my estate

I insure will writers against negligent advice, mistakes etc and have seen what can go wrong even when they are supposedly properly done. If it is just you and a partner or spouse then DIY is pretty straightforward assuming you're happy for them to have everything.

The moment kids are involved it is worth getting it drawn up properly by lawyer. As others have touched on it is areas such as one party dying and the kids being dis-inherited down the line, both of you dying and then money then needing to go into some form or trust for the kids upbringing. Who are going to be the trustees, who is going to look after the kids etc?

You can't assume that x or y relative will automatically a) get custody or b) want it and if the money is not in trust people can get their hands on it. Then there's what happens to the money as said kids hit 16, 18 or 21 for example - do they then get a share for themselves or does it stay in trust forever?

One thing just to keep an eye on with free wills etc. Just check that they do not nominate an executor. I have seen just the odd instance where a supposedly free will names XYZ Probate Company Ltd as executor and then they can charge 'reasonable' costs to the estate for managing the probate. These fees sometimes turn out to be anything but reasonable. 'Oh, I need a very expensive lunch for with the lawyers', 'Ooo, I need to do some research into the Estate in the South of France etc'.

If you die intestate then if you are married it is fairly straight forward but still not anywhere near as straight forward as if you have a will. If you are not married then it is an absolute nightmare!

The above notwithstanding. Reminds me - Mrs DBG and I need to do one...

Can't tell you what to do but have to admire the optimism in saying "if I die" 🙂

I can also say from bitter experience that dying intestate can be a rather unpleasant and troublesome thing to do to your closest relatives. It's possibly funny if you hate them, but then again, better to leave your estate to someone else in that case.

With no children, almost all of my estate (and my wife's) is going to charities. Though we are also working out how much to give away while alive. No real benefit in making them wait potentially several decades.

https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax

^^^ leaving it to wife who then leaves it to kids, you DON'T lose out on IHT.

However the bit about spouse leaves it to spouse, they remarry and the kids go whistle, that *is* a big problem. So...yeah, sorry, solicitor:/

Ideally the beneficiaries should be executors - if they have capacity - they can hire AND FIRE solicitors but they are definitely motivated to get it done, unlike solicitors.

And FGS get LPAs done - don't need a sol for that bit - we are all just one RTA away from really needing that.

Worth mentioning the remarriage thing isn't even just a matter of trust etc. The spouse's will is automatically invalidated by the second marriage and unless they get round to rewriting it properly and promptly (and these regular threads show just how hard that is) then when they die intestate their new spouse *will* automatically get everything in English law, and probably almost everything in Scots law (children get 1/3rd of the moveable estate to share between themselves by right, but this excludes property where most families have a large part of their wealth).

IMO a will is much more urgent that LPA, we all die (and it can happen abruptly) whereas only a small proportion will need LPA and in the vast majority of cases that comes on gradually with age. Though that's not an argument against doing LPA.

Please make sure you tell your executors of your wishes and document them in the will. I have been an executor on a few estates and it is not an easy job but not insurmountable if you are well organized and methodical. The HMRC helpline is very good. One of the new issues which executors are having to deal with is everything moving on line - so unless you keep good records how will the executors know about all your assets particularly if you have online investments and savings accounts. We still have a “Death” file with hard copy summaries of what we hold.

Good luck.

Oh and think about where the will err... will be stored. The National Will Safe is a good shout. Don't necessarily rely on your will writer's (if you use one) storage solutions. I have had will writers ask me whether an Ikea filing cabinet in their garage is sufficient or a filing cabinet kept in a storage unit. No, no it is not sufficient at all.

Note only the ink signed original is a valid legal document. Without that you are intestate. So, proper storage is a must.

Get a solicitor to do it, it cost us about £100, that includes multiple scenarios, life insurance paid to kids in trust if we die at the same time, who will be the trustees of their trust funds, gifts to guardians from our estate, what happens if we die together or separate etc etc, as our solicitor said just tell me what you want to happen and I'll put it in to legalese.

Hope you don't mind me asking Worldclassaccident, but you are okay, aren't you?

I've followed your exploits for a good few years now with wonder and admiration. You make me feel positively healthy and lucky!

TJ & anyone who is planning on leaving % rather than absolute sums to beneficiarys, can I suggest that you stipulate that the % is just of your assets & property ie doesn't include your chattels (unless they have great value). I'm dealing with an estate of around £1m but spending a lot of time and money getting my friends stuff valued properly as he left everything as a straight % & I will have to buy stuff off his estate that he wanted me to have 🤔 (eg £3k+ worth of records & cds).

Good call!  I have nowt of real value bar my bikes 🙂

[i]Hope you don’t mind me asking Worldclassaccident, but you are okay, aren’t you?[/i]

Yes, I am fine. Just had a little near death thingy that reminded me I really ought to get round to writing a will. Nothing serious but thanks for the concern, I hope I continue to inspire as an example* to others.

*of just how wrong things can go

+1 having a will WHEN you have a child, as in WHEN it is born

And +1 of just do it properly, if you've kids they won't thank you for trying to sort out a shoddy Will.

To add to the best bits - if you're leaving a house in your Will to more than one person, say it should be sold and the proceeds divided, not just left as a part of the Estate. My OH had an issue when her Dad died as her brother was living in his house (he'd moved into a rented supported flat). Took ages to get him to even agree to let the Estate Agent in etc. Her Mum then changed her Will to state that her house should be sold and the monies divided.

Honestly never really thought about a will. Married, 3 (now grown up) children. If we all die together then its not something we need to worry about, if just I die then then they can sort it out.

Are there any stats on the number of people who have a will vs don't?

We've got a Will but it needs modifying as our daughter is now over 18.

What would you do in this situation to protect our daughters inheritance?...

If my wife or myself were to pass away and then surviving partner enter a new relationship how could we stop our daughters inheritance being diluted. At the minute she is our sole beneficiary (barring a few minor gifts to neices), and would gain a tidy chunk that could set her up nicely.

I'm thinking if either were to re-marry and new partner also had children - how could we prevent money from our estate passing to other people?

@the-muffin-man it is possible but also complicates matters, best to consult a solicitor if that is a concern. As a blended family with 5 kids between us we looked into doing this but in the end decided we needed to trust each other (yes I know 🙄) as the alternative would leave the remaining partner tied up in legalities for the rest of their lives. In the end I just elected how my pensions would be divided up in the event of my death just to make sure that my boys at least got something.

A couple of folk on here appear to be experts / write wills?

If so any want to do mine?  Fees might as well go to an STWer as my lawyer

You can just name your daughter as a beneficiary in your will! That way she gets a bit for sure, and perhaps at an age that it might be some use to her rather than waiting until she's 60 and inheriting a second house that she has no use for.

(Did I mention, the vast majority of inherited wealth passes *to* rich homeowners in their 50s and 60s?)

I'm single with no offspring, what happens if I go? I have parents, sister and her 2 sons (my nephews), does the estate etc automatically pass to them as next of kin or should I get something written up? thanks

This pretty much explains route if intestate - in your case your parents.

https://www.pearsonlegal.co.uk/intestacy-rules/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtvSdBhD0ARIsAPf8oNnv_lRJqA5Fa2PFHk4V5jKtSxfRhD3MQ-Oq38eyLtxdJLsRGMjYAoQaApIvEALw_wcB

Thanks, will have a read

I think the best advice is pay an expert

Regarding giving money to charities I've always been told it is best to give a percentage.

The reason being financial situations can go up or down and when the person made the will the amount stipulated for charity may have seemed reasonable then, but at the time of their death the value of their estate may have decreased, and if the stipulated charity amount is near to what the whole estate is worth (or even larger than it), it may leave other beneficiaries/ dependents at a financial loss. If the charity amount is a percentage it will increase or decrease with the size of the estate.

I'm no expert though and the above is probably oversimplified. As Dickyboy says the exact wording is important, so best talking to an expert.

We’ve got a Will but it needs modifying as our daughter is now over 18.

This is good point. I'll have to look at mine and see if it's still applicable

how could we prevent money from our estate passing to other people?

I suspect it'd be difficult to draft, prone to challenge and as said, you should probably let your offspring make their own choices.

I think the best advice is pay an expert

Just as a balance to all the people saying to use a solicitor as it saves all the hassle.

My mum got billed just less than £30k by her new soli to unwind the PoS will that their previous soli had done for the pair of them.

Regarding giving money to charities I’ve always been told it is best to give a percentage.

For the sake of your executors, unless they have great value please specifically exclude the house contents from the % you distribute.

I'm currently considering buying the entire contents of my friends house rather than selling it off piece meal & having to account for every £ to the beneficiaries, this will give me much more flexibility to distribute his chattels as I think he would have wanted, but I am only in the position to be able to do this because I am also a beneficiary & shouldn't lose out in the long run even if I gave it all away. All this ball ache for something like 1% of the total value of his estate.

Apologies for the rant, it's just a fairly raw subject at the moment.

A couple of folk on here appear to be experts / write wills?

If so any want to do mine?  Fees might as well go to an STWer as my lawyer

TJ - make sure they are appropriate to do a Scottish well.  Not suggesting anyone here would be unscrupulous enough to take your money when they are not expert to do it, but there are plenty of people around who will either not realise you live in Scotland, forget its a different legal system, or suggest that the differences are so small as to be insignificant.  (They may be insignificant depending on your estate/intent - but by the time they've found that out one of you has investing time/money).

Note only the ink signed original is a valid legal document. Without that you are intestate. So, proper storage is a must.

I'd suggest that at least as important as proper storage is that other people (those most likely to be dealing with your affairs) know where to find it, and that if it is updated that you either keep using the same place or make sure those people know of the change and destroy the old ones - friend recently was well through the process of administering their mum's estate based on the Will which they had known about in their mum's "beaurea" all their life - and only when they happened to list the house on the market with the local solicitor their mother used when buying the property did they discover that she had lodged a new will with them when she bought the house. The terms were not massively different, but it could have been a real mess if say the executors were different or the instructions were massively different and had they used a different solicitor they would never have known and could have been really messy.

I'd also be very surprised if the courts would not accept say a scanned copy of a document which has been lost in a fire/flood as evidence of the original intent.

Good point Poly!  No one has volunteered anyway

the timing of this is weird as I literally am in the middle of writing mine! I've picked up some good tips I will use

@Dickyboy, why not just get a house clearer to sell the lot and distribute the proceeds? Would save yourself a whole lot of hassle. Do people really want lots of individual items of non-trivial value? You can quite legitimately pass chattels on (within the constraints of the will) if it's important for personal reasons, just put down a realistic value and no-one will challenge. If there's a dispute over that, auction the lot and they can bid for whatever they want, that's surely a fair solution.

It's your friend who didn't bother writing a proper will, don't beat yourself up too much trying to fix his laziness/incompetence.

I’d also be very surprised if the courts would not accept say a scanned copy of a document which has been lost in a fire/flood as evidence of the original intent.

No they won't. Too easy to tamper with a copy and alter the will in someone's favour maliciously. It MUST be the ink-signed original otherwise you are intestate. As I say I have a professional interest and knowledge of all of this and lose the original and you're stuffed.

@thecaptain it's a complicated situation that I'm not prepared to explain on a public forum.

It’s your friend who didn’t bother writing a proper will, don’t beat yourself up too much trying to fix his laziness/incompetence.

He did write a will but left % to charities & other beneficiarys but some of the items I know he wanted various people to have, so I'd rather buy them off the estate and gift them to the people concerned, than involve a house clearance co.

Well he should have written his will accordingly, there are plenty of clear descriptions of how to do it on the internet and any competent solicitor would have been able to help.

Yes he should but I'm guessing staring down the barrel of incurable cancer at the time didn't make that a top priority.
Anyway all I've tried to illustrate why it's best to exclude house contents/possessions if you are planning on leaving % to beneficiarys, so that other people don't make the same mistake.

Bit harsh that. (edit - the captain, sorry that last reply was inserted as I read. You're doing an admirable thing for your mate Dickyboy )

Yes sorry I realised my post would have seemed a bit harsh but FFS that's precisely why you shouldn't wait until you are dying before writing a will! My relative spent 6 months in denial and then the last couple of weeks high on drugs and never got theirs finished as a result, causing years of delay and thousands of pounds of costs and stress.

So wife and I don’t have one, and it’s been on the list for a long time. Kids are 5 & 7

Only people who we would trust to look after our children are my wife’s parents, and they are in their early 70s. Healthy at the moment but ageing. What is the alternative for families without support? Are they taken into care? Can you specifiy what happens (like they must not be split up?)

Not something I really want to think about, hence it never gets done

Did mine at a solicitors, two meetings and £400 later:
'You have requested a cremation, any other requests or stipulations?'
'Yes, I should like it very hot.'
'I'm sorry , Sir?'

Actually, I don't think it's been mentioned before, if anyone is planning on doing this.

Some charities offer will writing as a service, free at the point of use but obviously you're expected to leave a bequest for them in there. Also, if you're in a trade union, they have legal teams that generally do it free or at low cost as a member perk.

I started getting wills drafted up for myself and my partner, then aborted the process as my money ran out. The fees were running to over a grand. Looking at the prices some people are quoting here, was I being ripped off?

depends how complex it is and how much you did yourself.   You would be writing two wills

I'm going to write mine up in detail as its fairly complex and then to a lawyer for making sure its legal

No they won’t. Too easy to tamper with a copy and alter the will in someone’s favour maliciously. It MUST be the ink-signed original otherwise you are intestate. As I say I have a professional interest and knowledge of all of this and lose the original and you’re stuffed.

I am in no doubt that an "original" is best, I'm not convinced you are right that in its absence the answer is always that copies will always be dismissed by the court.  The logic that a scanned copy could be manipulated but a paper copy could not is probably a little naive.  Indeed if you want to stop people tampering with original paper documents one of the most effective things you can do is to take and share electronic copies. Certainly, the veracity of an electronic document is likely to come under scrutiny (although it should with any paper document too - its quite feasible to tamper with a paper document - especially one where the witnesses would not have read the details and may themselves now be deceased) - but my expectation is the court is more interested in whether the absence of the original is because the deceased intentionally destroyed it or because it was lost in supposedly safe storage.  That may depend on the circumstances presented to the court for why a copy exists, who had that copy and why the original is not available.

https://www.ralstonssolicitors.co.uk/blog/can-i-use-a-photocopy-will-if-i-cant-find-the-original

https://www.tmsolicitors.co.uk/probate-problems/is-a-photocopy-of-a-will-still-valid/

indeed the Law Society of Scotland says declaring there is no will when you know a copy of a will exists would probably be the wrong thing to do: https://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/journal/issues/vol-63-issue-12/lost-will-what-then/

I wasn't aiming to get into a long argument though - keep your original safe and make sure those who need to, know where to find it, is by far the best advice.

I think we paid 150 to get new ones a few years ago, not sure if that was for both of us or each. Very common to get a cheap fixed-fee service but I'm sure standard hourly lawyer rates could be a lot higher if you have a lot to discuss.

As said, I would pay someone to do it but even then issues may happen.

my parents did a very simple will with a solicitor (Scotland) so if either died everything went to the other. If both died it was to be split between my sister and myself. When my dad died 2 years ago there was some issue with the house going to my mum. Apparently my dads ‘half’ had to be split 50% to my mum and 25% to my sister and myself? Some old law/deeds issue from the early 70s I believe (my mum and sister sorted it all, as I am abroad, I just signed where I was told to). My sister and I were going to sign our ‘share’ back to my mum but in the end my mum said not to bother due to costs and it may help with inheritance tax down the line. So even simple wills with a solicitor can have issues.

which reminds me I need to get a will!

Best to pay extra for the crem de la crem to avoid inter family squabbles.

This stuff is right in my wheelhouse. Full disclosure I own Will & Probate Services www.will-probate.co.uk

As far as writing a Will goes, you can do you own if your affairs are very simple. In the OP's situation the biggest risk is the sideways disinheritance thing - he dies, spouse remarries (which would revoke her Will (S18 Wills Act 1837)) she the dies and the new spouse (wicked step father/ step mother) cops the lot. Lot's of people see this as a real risk and drawing up a professional Will can avoid this.

The probate registry do require the original Will in order to grant probate, there are very few situations where a copy of a Will can be admitted to probate. The starting presumption when trying to prove a copy of a Will is the presumption of revocation by destruction - i.e. that the person who wrote the Will decided that it was no longer appropriate and destroyed it. Anyone putting forward a copy will have to prove to the satisfaction of the courts that this was not the case. We all know how hard it is to prove a negative, especially when the only person who knew the real answer is dead.

Family squabbles and disputes are regular, but that said claims that progress to court are mercifully rare. This is because the grounds to challenge a Will and the people who can challenge are laid down in law and are surprisingly limited. Claims that a Will is invalid are notoriously hard to prove. It is also crucifyingly expensive to get the initial claim in front of a judge for a preliminary hearing and if you go to a full trial it is really easy to spend more than the estate value in legal fees to arrive at a judgement.

Most claims and disputes are families airing old grudges, or a kite flying exercise by someone trying to extract a settlement from the named beneficiaries. As such most are settled by a few solicitors letters and in some cases mediation.

If any one wants to chat through any specific questions I am always happy to help just drop me a message. I have been lucky enough to help a few members in the past.

re: marriage invalidating wills.

My partner and I wrote wills a few years ago and then got married in the meantime, does this mean that our wills are invalid?