Will Writing

Making a Will is simple. There are a few ways to do it:

• Online – make a Will online using our online Will writing service
• By post – download the form and send it back to us
• By phone – call and speak to us
• In person – come and speak to us in one of our national offices.

We recommend our online or postal service if your estate is relatively straightforward. If you have more complex requirements, or you’d like to talk about tax-planning or asset protection options such as setting up a trust, we advise speaking to us on the phone or coming in to see one of our experts.

Call us today for an initial consultation, or use our online enquiry form and we’ll give you a call back.

This depends on your requirements and the complexity of your estate.

Find out more about the cost of standard Wills offered through our online service.

If your estate is fairly straightforward, we recommend this option. Get started with our online wills service today.

You can also use our postal service by downloading the form and sending it in to us. The fees for this service are slightly higher due to the processes involved.

For both these services there may be additional costs if you need more complex advice. We would let you know about these before drafting your Will. More complex and high value estates require more dedicated legal advice tailored to your needs, to ensure you and your loved ones are provided for in the most tax-efficient way.

For this service we recommend contacting the team to arrange an appointment with one of our experts who can let you know the options available to you.

Everyone’s circumstances are different, but some of the things to consider when making a Will are:

• The value of your estate – inheritance tax (IHT) is generally due on anything over the £325,000 threshold (£650,000 for married couples and civil partners) once mortgage and other debts are deducted
• A new IHT allowance of £125,000 may apply if you own a property and leave some of your estate to relatives like children and grandchildren.
• How you own your assets – if you co-own property with your spouse, the type of tenancy you have will affect whether or not they can continue to live there after your death
• Who you want to leave your assets to (i.e. your beneficiaries)
• Who you would like to be the executors of your estate
• Whether some assets would be best placed in a trust for asset protection purposes.

These are important decisions to make and you should seek legal advice to make sure your estate is structured in the best way for you and your beneficiaries.

Read through our Wills Checklist to see if you’ve got everything covered.

Yes we can. Our specialist storage facility ensures your Will is kept secure from the risk of theft, fire or water damage. It also means it’s easily accessed after your death, giving you peace of mind and making things easier for your loved ones.

This service is free for our standard, bespoke and Wills Assured clients.

Your Will belongs to you, and we’ll happily store it for you and provide you with a copy when you need one. If at any stage you’d like your original Will returned to you, just let us know and we’ll tell you what we need to send it to you. When you die, your executors will need the original Will. We can explain the terms of the Will to them and help them deal with the probate process.

An up-to-date Will is essential for making sure your wishes reflect your current situation and includes everyone you wish. It’s good practice to recheck your Will every five years, especially to make sure it considers any changes in tax regulations that might affect you. We suggest reviewing your Will following major life changes, for example if:

• You get married or divorced
• Any of your beneficiaries get married or die
• New children or grandchildren are born, and you want them to inherit
• There’s a significant change in your financial circumstances
• You come into any inheritance – this could change the value of your estate and the Inheritance Tax payable.

With our Wills Assured Service, standard updates are free. That means you don’t have to worry about paying extra fees to keep your Will fit for purpose. Deciding whether to make changes to your existing Will (adding a codicil) or to write a new one will depend on the scale and number of changes you want to make. A codicil is an addition to a Will that can amend or revoke parts of it. This can be suitable if there are just one or two small changes. If you need any large revisions, it’s often better to write a new Will to avoid confusion. We can explore these options with you and advise on what’s best for you and your loved ones.

If you’ve been left out of a Will, haven’t been left as much as you expected, or think the Will is wrong in some way, you might be able to contest it.

Contesting a Will can be challenging and feel daunting. With the help of our Will Disputes Team, we can support and guide you through the process. We can also help if you are an executor defending against a Will dispute.

At the same time as thinking about your Will, it makes sense to also consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). These are useful if you’re worried about losing the ability to manage your own affairs in the future.

We can discuss the options with you and help you appoint the right person to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.