Writing a will without paying a solicitor

Haze said:
I would not waste your breath, OP knows better than everyone else, don't know why some people ask for help, when they are already more clued up than everyone else
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Calm down dear.
Blue Cross use bequeathed so it’ll be sorted by a solicitor.
Much the same I guess as the air ambulance, dogs trust and national trust that others have mentioned in this thread.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
We've done something similar but our house is also in a trust for the kids and if we end up in a home the State can't use money from it.
I'm quite impressed with the company because even though it was a good year ago they keep us informed and have just sent papers to be resigned.
I am currently witnessing a family fighting a Will because their Dad did his own. He left nothing to one child and two Grandkids.
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Yup, ours goes to a trust for the kids if we both go.
I had to adjust our life insurance too, so that goes into a trust.
We did individual insurance, so there's two payouts and there was some issues having a joint life policy going into a trust.
Hoping it's all correct! At the time it all made sense.

Then either brother manages that trust, so they can rent the house out for income, or sell it to fund kids stuff.

The dude who wrote out will said the wording has to be correct for all this to work, whether that was a sales pitch or not I don't know.
But hopefully it's all good, I had to pay a bit extra for the trust bit to be added in, but it wasn't mega money.
 
rodders said:
Yup, ours goes to a trust for the kids if we both go.
I had to adjust our life insurance too, so that goes into a trust.
We did individual insurance, so there's two payouts and there was some issues having a joint life policy going into a trust.
Hoping it's all correct! At the time it all made sense.

Then either brother manages that trust, so they can rent the house out for income, or sell it to fund kids stuff.

The dude who wrote out will said the wording has to be correct for all this to work, whether that was a sales pitch or not I don't know.
But hopefully it's all good, I had to pay a bit extra for the trust bit to be added in, but it wasn't mega money.
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It may be worth looking at the Insurance thing, I don't think we did that.
Yes we have come to learn that the wording has to be bob on, at the first signing my wife and witnesses did theirs in blue pen but obviously working in Legal I went straight for a black pen - got to admit there was nothing on any documentation saying black pen and they have now changed it.
Second time a Witness had signed in the wrong place and now third time they've sent my wife's back to be resigned even though she can't see what she did wrong.
We had friends refer this company so took the plunge - https://townandcountrylaw.legal
 
TangoEchoAlpha said:
Use a solicitor or a proper company with experience of will writing, estate management, etc. The one I used charges £85 for a single will, they can do everything needed over the phone or Zoom. If you have multiple properties and a RTX4090, I think £85 should be good value for money ;)
:)


Wills Pattison James Associates Limited | Will writing Camberley | Will writer Wales | Will writing Surrey

www.pjawills.co.uk www.pjawills.co.uk

There is absolutely no way I would use a self writing service or one of the kits from WHSmith. Get it done properly, save your loved ones the headache on top of the bereavement.
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There is no headache unless they decide to challenge what is written in which case there is nothing you can do about it as they will challenge it no matter who wrote it. Unless you have seriously complicated affairs and want to make a load of complicates and controversial dispersals then really the smiths or the free service is more than adequate.
 
a1ex2001 said:
There is no headache unless they decide to challenge what is written in which case there is nothing you can do about it as they will challenge it no matter who wrote it. Unless you have seriously complicated affairs and want to make a load of complicates and controversial dispersals then really the smiths or the free service is more than adequate.
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I think we'll just have to disagree. One of the most important documents you might ever write in your life - in my view, get it done properly. Yes, some people will contest it regardless - but getting it done by someone who knows what they are doing and can give you proper advice, as opposed to a one size fits all.

As @SexyGreyFox says above, there's loads of ways a will can be invalidated, it's worth doing it right in my view. Peace of mind knowing that your wishes are likely to be carried out, as opposed to a DIY job that are more likely to be contested.
 
TangoEchoAlpha said:
As @SexyGreyFox says above, there's loads of ways a will can be invalidated, it's worth doing it right in my view. Peace of mind knowing that your wishes are likely to be carried out, as opposed to a DIY job that are more likely to be contested.
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Another thing, I work with 3x Solicitors and a Lawyer, yes they are experts in Medical matters and Staff disputes however they will go to the proper people for stuff like this.
 
TangoEchoAlpha said:
I think we'll just have to disagree. One of the most important documents you might ever write in your life - in my view, get it done properly. Yes, some people will contest it regardless - but getting it done by someone who knows what they are doing and can give you proper advice, as opposed to a one size fits all.

As @SexyGreyFox says above, there's loads of ways a will can be invalidated, it's worth doing it right in my view. Peace of mind knowing that your wishes are likely to be carried out, as opposed to a DIY job that are more likely to be contested.
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Everyone sees a different value in things for me spending several hundred pounds on a simple will that splits your estate equally between your children is a total waste of money when a standard worded template will do the job more than adequately. Yes if you want to do something fancy or that your relatives are likely to object to bring in a pro but for most wills it is a waste of money.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Everyone sees a different value in things for me spending several hundred pounds on a simple will that splits your estate equally between your children is a total waste of money when a standard worded template will do the job more than adequately. Yes if you want to do something fancy or that your relatives are likely to object to bring in a pro but for most wills it is a waste of money.
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Mr friends Mother has just died and the will has been split equally between three of them.
The Sisters are in their 60s but two of them are contesting it because one of the sisters did absolutely nothing for her Mother during her life and also had nothing to do with her for at least 10 years but the pair of them think it's disgusting that she can benefit from her death.
The Will is a proper one so they won't stand a chance.

It would have been the same for me and my Sister, I was secretly hoping I'd get nothing off my Mother and my Sister was worried I'd get 50%.
The Will was produced and I got a staggering 33.3% while my Sister got 66.6%, I apologised to her and said I would gladly hand her all my 33% but she wasn't having none of it.
She said she was happy with my 33.3% but if it had been 50% she would have contested it but would have failed because the Will was done properly.
My Sister did everything for my Mother and even contributed to the house so I would have been content with nothing.

Never underestimate bitching families when it comes to money.
 
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SexyGreyFox said:
Mr friends Mother has just died and the will has been split equally between three of them.
The Sisters are in their 60s but two of them are contesting it because one of the sisters did absolutely nothing for her Mother during her life and also had nothing to do with her for at least 10 years but the pair of them think it's disgusting that she can benefit from her death.
The Will is a proper one so they won't stand a chance.

It would have been the same for me and my Sister, I was secretly hoping I'd get nothing off my Mother and my Sister was worried I'd get 50%.
The Will was produced and I got a staggering 33.3% while my Sister got 66.6%, I apologised to her and said I would gladly hand her all my 33% but she wasn't having none of it.
She said she was happy with my 33.3% but if it had been 50% she would have contested it but would have failed because the Will was done properly.
My Sister did everything for my Mother and even contributed to the house so I would have been content with nothing.

Never underestimate bitching families when it comes to money.
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A lot will would likely have been equally good in both cases unless the people involved had some very complicated finances. It is all just standard wording not some mysterious magic!
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Mr friends Mother has just died and the will has been split equally between three of them.
The Sisters are in their 60s but two of them are contesting it because one of the sisters did absolutely nothing for her Mother during her life and also had nothing to do with her for at least 10 years but the pair of them think it's disgusting that she can benefit from her death.
The Will is a proper one so they won't stand a chance.

It would have been the same for me and my Sister, I was secretly hoping I'd get nothing off my Mother and my Sister was worried I'd get 50%.
The Will was produced and I got a staggering 33.3% while my Sister got 66.6%, I apologised to her and said I would gladly hand her all my 33% but she wasn't having none of it.
She said she was happy with my 33.3% but if it had been 50% she would have contested it but would have failed because the Will was done properly.
My Sister did everything for my Mother and even contributed to the house so I would have been content with nothing.

Never underestimate bitching families when it comes to money.
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I'm waiting for the same when my grandmother dies. My grandfather died recently, and being an executor of the will (along with my father), I'm now privy to the contents. My uncle has been shafted (just him and my father left, other brother died), and it's because he ****** off the Spain when my grandparents started to rely on him and my father. So, my grandad cut his % down to something very slim. I think he was expecting either 50% or 33.3%. My father actually talked my grandfather up from something like 7% to 12% and made sure that the reasoning was in writing to avoid him contesting it.

My parents have done everything for my grandparents since my uncle left for Spain, so it's hardly surprising. With my father and I being the executors, we will both follow exactly what my grandfather wanted. The uncle will have to take us to court if he wants more. But grandad wrote down the reasoning...so I think he has no chance.

This stuff all sucks though. The whole process is horrible and difficult.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
I'm waiting for the same when my grandmother dies. My grandfather died recently, and being an executor of the will (along with my father), I'm now privy to the contents. My uncle has been shafted (just him and my father left, other brother died), and it's because he ****** off the Spain when my grandparents started to rely on him and my father. So, my grandad cut his % down to something very slim. I think he was expecting either 50% or 33.3%. My father actually talked my grandfather up from something like 7% to 12% and made sure that the reasoning was in writing to avoid him contesting it.

My parents have done everything for my grandparents since my uncle left for Spain, so it's hardly surprising. With my father and I being the executors, we will both follow exactly what my grandfather wanted. The uncle will have to take us to court if he wants more. But grandad wrote down the reasoning...so I think he has no chance.

This stuff all sucks though. The whole process is horrible and difficult.
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It’s sad how money can make people so crazy, everyone seems to have a story of people loosing it over things after people pass. I’ve seen it with members of my own family squabbling over worthless tat or pinching stuff from relatives houses before the bodies are cold. It always seems to bring out the worst in people.

one thing that I think would make a huge difference is if people were more willing to discuss these things before death it is bonkers that the first think your uncle will know of his reduced share is when his dad has just died! Why are we all so bad at talking about difficult things!
 
a1ex2001 said:
It’s sad how money can make people so crazy, everyone seems to have a story of people loosing it over things after people pass. I’ve seen it with members of my own family squabbling over worthless tat or pinching stuff from relatives houses before the bodies are cold. It always seems to bring out the worst in people.

one thing that I think would make a huge difference is if people were more willing to discuss these things before death it is bonkers that the first think your uncle will know of his reduced share is when his dad has just died! Why are we all so bad at talking about difficult things!
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Fair point, though I'm not sure he knew what his share was before the will was before it was re-written.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Fair point, though I'm not sure he knew what his share was before the will was before it was re-written.
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Regardless of the share he should know, it's scary that your granddad is basically abdicating all responsibility for that decision and leaving it to your dad to explain to his brother that he got the lions share! I have no problem with non equal shares but the person making the decision really should explain it to all concerned, money is this weird secret thing nobody ever talks about which just makes it even more controversial.

Back to the topic of the thread though there is no reason why a kit will couldn't be used to cover this situation al a lawyer is doing is charging you more for there assistant to fill out the prepared standard text they use, unless as I say your affairs are highly complex.
 
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a1ex2001 said:
Regardless of the share he should know, it's scary that your granddad is basically abdicating all responsibility for that decision and leaving it to your dad to explain to his brother that he got the lions share! I have no problem with non equal shares but the person making the decision really should explain it to all concerned, money is this weird secret thing nobody ever talks about which just makes it even more controversial.
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Makes sense. Not sure why he didn't to be honest. My uncle can be a bit psychopathic; maybe that has something to do with it.
 
Big law firm who deal with loads of Lottery winners are busy putting my Will together. I never had one before winning even though I should have as I owned equity in a property.
 
Also I've just learnt that I'm being written out of my Grandmother's Will due to me winning the lottery. Not sure how fair that is but basically my sister is going to be getting what was going to be my share.
 
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