Quite obviously any professional solicitor will say no, BUT before you leave this page, let us explain why.
This isn't just about self-protectionism for the legal profession, there are some very solid reasons for avoiding will writers and instructing solicitors to draw your will.
Your will is going to be one of the most important documents that you will ever create, important not just to you but also to your beneficiaries.
Disputed probates/wills is one of the biggest areas of litigation and is growing all the time. In a time of massive social change, including family structures and the worst economic downturn in a century, beneficiaries are resorting to litigation if they feel that they have been unfairly treated by the will maker or that the will is unclear. There are mistakes in over 20% of wills in this country; not only that, but charities are incredibly aggressive in situations where a legacy to them has been identified and have considerable resources behind them when it comes to litigating against other beneficiaries.
Heir Hunters, who deal with intestacy, are also very litigious and won’t hesitate to take on potential beneficiaries if the estate is valuable enough.
More people are relying upon legacies to help them through life and old age, or in turn to help their children on the increasingly elusive property ladder.
Sitting down face-to-face with an experienced, highly-skilled wills and probate lawyer, who is going to ensure that every one of your wishes is clearly and accurately stated and that your estate is protected from such litigation, is vital. After all, any litigation costs will be met from the estate, leaving the value of the estate much reduced. You can’t do any of this with an online will writing service.
Our lawyers can advise you about tax planning and inheritance tax issues, something that wills writers cannot. They can inform you about current HMRC policy on valuations of estates and recent tax tribunal decisions, so that you can have an accurate idea of how much you are likely to leave your beneficiaries.
You will then be confident that you can control your and divide your assets as you wish.
You may have illegitimate children, step-children or estranged relatives and other issues that need to be addressed sensitively, so it’s important that you are dealing with a lawyer who is approachable and sensitive to your individual situation.
Perhaps you are very unwell; we can travel to you at home or in hospital to draw your will and give you peace of mind. An online will drafting service cannot do that for you.
A solicitor will ensure that you are sufficiently competent to state your wishes and make all the necessary decisions; again this is a fast changing area and one of the biggest issues in dispute. The courts recently ruled that somebody suffering from dementia was sufficiently competent to make a will.
Your wishes must be stated clearly, leaving no room for doubt. Assets must be clearly described, so too must the allocation of shares of the assets in order to avoid doubt and confusion.
Specific legacies could fail if there aren't any replacement clauses, for example.
Perhaps you have assets in foreign jurisdictions who have very different approaches to the distribution of assets e.g. France. The asset will be distributed amongst the entire family of the testator. These issues have to be clearly addressed.
Some will writers offer wills at very low prices BUT will charge high monthly fees to store your will. Most solicitors will store the will for either a low charge or no charge at all.
Will writers often have pre-paid probate packages, however these will only cover to the grant of probate and NOT the full administration of the estate. These packages do not allow the executors to work with experienced professional to administer the estate and don't allow for the charges of third parties.
Any mistake about any aspect of the will can leave the will invalid and the client intestate, and again that is when the prospect of a disputed will arises. If a solicitor makes a mistake when drawing a will then a beneficiary or executor can sue (because all solicitors have professional indemnity insurance) or complain to the Ombudsman and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Unregulated will writers are not in that position; if there is a mistake in the will the only redress that your beneficiaries will have will be to embark on expensive complex litigation, and most of these will writing companies are insubstantial with few assets, if any.
There is also the issue of the ‘long stop rule’ to take into account, this is a limitation period of 15 years from the date of the making of the will in which any interested party can sue, but in reality, many people make wills many years before they die and so very often the interested party is time barred from civil action or has only a short time in which to sue, by the time they realise that a mistake has happened. With the solicitor’s profession this is not an issue.
So, we hope that we have explained that there are very many problems when instructing will writers.
If you would like to discuss the making of a will contact us now for a quotation.
