You can buy a will pack from places like WH Smith which are legal and do the job as long as you have two witnesses but if you have any sort of complications such as kids, previous marriages, swiss bank accounts, etc, etc I would suggest getting a lawyer or another professional to do it
Don't go for the the DIY packs, they really are more trouble than they are worth.
Don't think it is that expensive (not really my area) but I wouldn't have thought it would be more than a couple of hundred. Best advice would be to try a few local firms and get quotes.
Got mine done by a solicitors in Bexleyheath, can't remember which one now. But as Barn Door Lisbie says, just give a few of them a ring and get a quote. It's all pretty sraightforward.
GH go to a proper professional mate (i.e solicitor etc) .Do not try to DIY or go with an agency. from the little you have said on here you have had an interesting background and an amateur job might just end up costing the people you really want to cop for your estate more than you will ever pay in legal fees now.
I had one done by a firm in Caterham, Dollman Pritchard not the cheapest but so comprehensive allowing for various beneficiaries to predecease me without me ever having to re-write. Professional job at around £250 I think.
Worth considering doing a Power of attorney as well as a will. The will covers eventuallity of dieing and the power of attorney allows someone to look after your affairs if you lose the capacity to (otherwise they have to get a court of protection order which takes time).
[cite]Posted By: Maglor[/cite]Worth considering doing a Power of attorney as well as a will. The will covers eventuallity of dieing and the power of attorney allows someone to look after your affairs if you lose the capacity to (otherwise they have to get a court of protection order which takes time).
What you need to make is a lasting Power of Attorney. Law changed last October with the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act. Enduring Power of Attorneys became redundant from the 1st October and were replaced by LPA's. If you made an EPA befor 1/10/07 then it is still valid. As soon as the person loses capacity it must be registered at the Court of Protection. An LPA MUST be registered as soon as it is made and evidence must be supplied of capacity to make the document.
Maglor is quite correct when he says that an Order of the Court of Protection takes time. They're service standard says it's a 35 week turnaround. Given the chaos at Archway Tower (Home of the Court and Office of the Public Guardian) it surprises me if we receive an order within that time.
When needed they can act very quickly, we recently went to the Royal Courts of Justice for an emergency order. Though you have to say the right words in the application.
Back on subject - If you do not make a will your money may not go to the people you want it to go to. If you have no next of kin I may end doing your funeral (well if you live in Islington) and your estate will be dealt with by Darlings Angels!
As Maglor/BDL have said wills need to be done professionally and do it yourself ones can be nightmares especially for those you leave behind. If you have kids under 18 they cannot receive their inheritance until they reach maturity at 18. You may wish to control how and when they receive it, say some at 18, some at 25 etc. I have seen wills where the money for the kids is held in trust and loaned to the children when they marry with the proviso that the money needs to be repaid in the event they divorce, protecting your kids money. If you own property jointly with your wife, as part of the process you should have your property ownership changed to Tenants in Common which means that your wife and you own half the value of the house each and your half is yours to leave to whom so ever you wish. If not and say you die first, you wife will automatically inherit the whole property and then if she re-married, she could decide to cut your kids out of the inheritance altogether. A Solicitor or a decent Wills company can get your wll drawn up with trusts included which allow each surviving partner to continue living at the property/any new property until their death.
You can pay less than £100 for simple wills leaving money to your spouse, to £500 or more for complex ones. Most Solictors will quote you for basic wills.
I agree with the importance of a LPA. dealing with the court of protection can take a long time and be quite costly.
No I'd rather not. I have had many, many dealings with solictors and lawyers over the years and whilst I respect what they do, I find their inability to answer most of the issues presented to them unequivocally, frustrating.
I once worked for a very large computer company as their Insurance Manager. We were tendering for a contract with the Civil Aviation Authority for the supply of a ground to ground and ground to air communications system (voice and data). I needed to consider what insurance cover we might need in the event that the system failed and led directly to an aircraft crashing. I sought established from the CAA what they considered to be the most catastrophic loss that they could forsee and although they wouldn't for reasons of confidentiality confirm the actual value, the indications were a figure of greater than £1 billion. The advice from our solicitor was that the risk of anybody successfully claiming against my company for causing such a crash was probably too remote, but despite that he couldn't/wouldn't rule it out at least to the extent that somebody might try. Thus it was left to me to decide. I took the pragmatic decision, based on the cost of cover being pretty cheap, to purchase £100M of cover which would at least pay the costs of defending any claim.
So Solictors can tell you the mights and the maybes and on occasions what can't be done but I prefer to look at what can be done and make decisions.
Mrs Stig and I paid £200 each last year for a pair of joint wills. Glad we went to a proper solicitors rather than buying a pre-packed document. She (the solicitor) asked some good questions which made us think about what we really wanted, also the solicitors look after the documents for you afterwards, so there's less chance of them getting lost.
I made my will through one of those 'specialised' will companies, reasonable enough fees if I remember rightly and the guy who came for the home visit seemed well clued up......no complaints from me, other than they are located at Norwood Junction, just a stones throw from Smellhurst Park....they are called Assured Legacies Ltd.
My will is 'fairly' straight forward......however for more complicated wills and issues I assume that you'd be better off going to a solicitor.
May I also suggest that you consider setting up a 'power of attorney' to look after your affairs in the event of mental or physical incapacity.Not nearly enough folk do this and it can lead to some dreadful problems should misfortune befall you......my sister will be allowed to act on my behalf in this instance.
This is of course a different matter from a will, and I had to arrainge this through a solicitor.
Comments
You could also try these people http://www.justwillsplc.com/terms-conditions.asp
Don't think it is that expensive (not really my area) but I wouldn't have thought it would be more than a couple of hundred. Best advice would be to try a few local firms and get quotes.
Based in Chatham area though
If you want a name give me a whisper.
Worth considering doing a Power of attorney as well as a will. The will covers eventuallity of dieing and the power of attorney allows someone to look after your affairs if you lose the capacity to (otherwise they have to get a court of protection order which takes time).
What you need to make is a lasting Power of Attorney. Law changed last October with the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act. Enduring Power of Attorneys became redundant from the 1st October and were replaced by LPA's. If you made an EPA befor 1/10/07 then it is still valid. As soon as the person loses capacity it must be registered at the Court of Protection. An LPA MUST be registered as soon as it is made and evidence must be supplied of capacity to make the document.
Maglor is quite correct when he says that an Order of the Court of Protection takes time. They're service standard says it's a 35 week turnaround. Given the chaos at Archway Tower (Home of the Court and Office of the Public Guardian) it surprises me if we receive an order within that time.
When needed they can act very quickly, we recently went to the Royal Courts of Justice for an emergency order. Though you have to say the right words in the application.
Back on subject - If you do not make a will your money may not go to the people you want it to go to. If you have no next of kin I may end doing your funeral (well if you live in Islington) and your estate will be dealt with by Darlings Angels!
You can pay less than £100 for simple wills leaving money to your spouse, to £500 or more for complex ones. Most Solictors will quote you for basic wills.
I agree with the importance of a LPA. dealing with the court of protection can take a long time and be quite costly.
(No I'm not a solictor)
Maybe you should be bing ;o)
I once worked for a very large computer company as their Insurance Manager. We were tendering for a contract with the Civil Aviation Authority for the supply of a ground to ground and ground to air communications system (voice and data). I needed to consider what insurance cover we might need in the event that the system failed and led directly to an aircraft crashing. I sought established from the CAA what they considered to be the most catastrophic loss that they could forsee and although they wouldn't for reasons of confidentiality confirm the actual value, the indications were a figure of greater than £1 billion. The advice from our solicitor was that the risk of anybody successfully claiming against my company for causing such a crash was probably too remote, but despite that he couldn't/wouldn't rule it out at least to the extent that somebody might try. Thus it was left to me to decide. I took the pragmatic decision, based on the cost of cover being pretty cheap, to purchase £100M of cover which would at least pay the costs of defending any claim.
So Solictors can tell you the mights and the maybes and on occasions what can't be done but I prefer to look at what can be done and make decisions.
My will is 'fairly' straight forward......however for more complicated wills and issues I assume that you'd be better off going to a solicitor.
May I also suggest that you consider setting up a 'power of attorney' to look after your affairs in the event of mental or physical incapacity.Not nearly enough folk do this and it can lead to some dreadful problems should misfortune befall you......my sister will be allowed to act on my behalf in this instance.
This is of course a different matter from a will, and I had to arrainge this through a solicitor.