Ready To Make A Will Yet?

Some solicitors offer free will writing services, but others charge a percentage of the value of the estate, or charge a fee for their time. Whether you opt for a free will or one that costs a little more money, make sure to ask about all details and any charges further down the line so you are not surprised by any payment. Quite often a free will can end up with you paying more in the long run.

Yes it is legal to use an online tool or template to draft your will providing you follow all the correct guidelines, we would strongly you advise that you get legal help though and do not rely on the free service alone as any mistakes may not be picked up. If this were the case it could be a very costly error.

Using a Will writing service to draft your Will is a convenient option. However, you should check that the service follows the relevant laws and regulations for your state. You may also wish to use a lawyer to review your Will.

When you make a Will, you need to ensure that you make provisions for minor children. You may want to include a guardian for your children, or you may want to name them as executors of your Will. You should also make sure that you list your heirs and their circumstances. Always make sure all rules and regulations are followed.

As life changes, so does your Will. You may have added new family members or acquired more assets. These changes will affect how you distribute your estate.

If you are serious about making sure your loved ones are taken care of, you should review your Will at least once every two years. You should also make sure that you review it after any major life change, including remarriage, divorce, purchase of property, change of address, significant asset changes or the birth of a child.

An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. Often a close friend is chosen as a will executor but you take legal advice if you are thinking of doing this. When signing the will you will need a witness and the whole process needs to be completed properly and within the law otherwise your drafted will is not legally binding.

Intestate or intestacy is when someone dies without a will and this means the decisions regarding the estate are taken out of the hands of the family and are taken by the authorities according to the current law. You should avoid being intestate at all costs.

We would always advise you to use a qualified and professional will writer or will writing service. If you prefer you can shoose a solicitor. It is possible for you to have just as good a will from template online as with a professionally written one however it is highly unlikely and very risky. Inheritance and inheritance tax are very complicated areas. We would definitely not take the chance and would absolutely use a professional to draft the will.

Yes you can decide to more or less what you want in your will including donating a gift to charity to continue your fundraising. As always, we would advise to seek legal help in the drafting of your will.

An executor is someone who is named in the will as responsible for dealing with the estate. An executor may have to apply for a special legal authority before they can deal with the estate. This is called probate. You want to avoid going through probate as this can affect your finances and could take a long time to resolve.

No, you don’t need a job or to be in business to be able to draft a will. Being part of the corporate sector is absolutely not a requirement.

You are entirely responsible for keeping you will safe. There are services where you can store your document but ultimately the legal liability is yours. If you do choose to use one of the online will document storage facilities they provide you with full technical support to aid you.

This is a question for your lawyer to answer, it depends on so many factors relating to the policy or will. Marriage, divorce, death, terminal illness are all things to consider. If your spouse is named then you should definitely seek legal advice.

When deciding to draft your will in the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland you should seek legal advice regarding the validity for Europe and USA especially if you have some inheritance. We strongly advise you to seek professional help with international law.

Yes it can, however, you should seek advice on this due to the length of time it may take to execute your will as the funeral payment is likely to be needed before the will has been executed. If you really want to make sure your funeral is covered then perhaps looking at a funeral care plan is a better option as it is better to be dealing with these issues before your death rather than expecting family members to try and pick up the pieces afterwards.

Yes you can, we would strongly advise you to make a will before this happens though. Making a will is not something to put off as so many times people leave it too late and then they are too sick to be able to deal with it properly. Leaving a will until you are seriously ill is not something we would advise.

If everything has been well prepared and is in order then it should be a case of making a telephone call or writing an email to begin the claim process. The more organised you are and better prepared then easier, quicker and cheaper the whole process becomes.

If the will is up to date and contains all the correct information then the beneficiary will be notified, it there are several beneficiaries then they will all be notified.