Will Aid: Make a will without the solicitor's fees
Writing a will is not a priority for most people, but right now you have the chance to get one written for a fraction of the normal cost.
Millions of us do not have a will. It may be because it’s something we don’t want to think or talk about, or simply isn’t seen as a priority.
Instead of putting it off, you can get a will written up without paying the solicitor's fees in November, thanks to the month-long Will Aid campaign.
Why do I need a will?
The main reason you need a will is that without one, you'll have no say in what happens to your assets when you die.
If you die intestate (without a will) surviving spouses, for example, will automatically inherit £250,000 of an existing estate and half of anything above this will go to any children at age 18. However, with a will in place you’re able to specify how much will go to a spouse, or children, and at what age they’ll be able to take control of this money.
Another major reason for getting a will is if you’re living with someone, but you're not married. Without one, there’s no guarantee you will inherit anything when a partner dies.
As well as writing a will, it needs to be up-to-date. Around 40% of people in the UK who do have a will haven't updated it in at least five years. On top of this a further 4.5 million haven't updated a will in more than ten years. Wills need to be updated whenever something significant happens in your life and if you don't do this, it may not be valid after you die.
Will Aid
Thousands of solicitors get involved with Will Aid every year and lend out their will writing services in return for an optional donation to charity. Since it was founded in 1988, solicitors and clients have raised £13.6 million for the charities involved.
For one month you have the chance to get a will written without using the excuse of ‘cost’ as a reason not to do it. Not only does it help charity, it also works as a way to encourage more people to start planning for their finances after they die.
Instead of paying out the normal solicitor fees, the suggested donation figures are £95 for a single will and £150 for mirror wills. As the cost of a single will tends to cost around £120 for a single person and £200 for a couple, this is quite a significant saving.
The money raised is split across nine different charities including Age UK, British Red Cross, and ActionAid. In 2013 £2 million was raised.
It’s running through the whole of November but you should act now if you want to book an appointment.
Can I do it on my own?
It’s completely legal to write up your own Will and our guide gives you all the details you need.
But this can be a bit of a hazardous process, especially if your situation isn't straightforward. As a result do-it-yourself wills, available from high street shops such as WHSmith, can lead to problems later down the line if important things are missed out.
Generally, it needs to include details of all assets you own and all family members, including those from previous marriages. If you’ve got any complications at all in this regard, it’s much better to go down the professional route.
More on Wills:
What happens to your money after you die?
Assets worth £175 million 'lost' from wills
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Comments
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I am with Angiedelo here. Years back, instead of going to see a laywer, my family - the unsavvy side - bought my father one of these WH Smith efforts. It was lying around the house for years. He never put pen to paper. He therefore died intestate. One of the problems was not what he wanted to do with his goods and chattels, but no one was quite sure what goods and chattels he actually had, and there were rumours of secret bank accounts. His goods and chattels were swiped by the relatives who lived nearest to his house. Not that that did them much good: they had never learned how to handle money, and anything they made out of my father's death was quickly "swallowed". On discussion forums I find quite a lot of people who are looking for ways to skimp on lawyers' fees. The Law is an absolute jungle, and you are going to need an EXPERT to guide you past the pitfalls - and that includes something as basic as making a will. This is an instance where you really do get what you pay for. And if you pay nothing, nothing is what you will get.
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Its the usual lie to protect the establishment professional posts, its your money and you can allocate it as you wish , the law cannot ever and I mean ever contradict your wishes. Always remember this is the country that protects the rights of the most despicable criminals, ostensibly because it believes in fair play. But actually it feels safer with the status quo, and blame later scenario. The only way, a will can go wrong is using illegal procedure such as beneficiary,s & witness,s being duplicated, and other such mistakes which are minor errors, get an independent adjudicator to point out mistakes and pay nothing.
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Use a solicitor, always. It may cost but the ones you love get your estate. My father in law wrote a will on a WH Smith home will, had it witnessed etc. He made it his "express wish" that in the event of his death his daughter and son should share his estate when his second wife passed away. His second wife changed her will and left everything to her sisters when she passed. My husband and sister in law where unable to contest the will as it was not lodged with a solicitor. If my father in law had known he would have done it correctly as he wanted his children to inherit, not his sisters in law. As a result my mother in law has had her will done properly so that her second husband can not do the same thing to her children.
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07 November 2014