What are the benefits of hiring a lawyer when writing a will

Raphael Hill · 17 Sep 2020 at 08:04

I’m not getting any younger, and I’m about to celebrate my 70th birthday in a month. It’s been over two years since I last updated my last will. So far, I have acquired a handful amount of additional assets, so the will needs a good revision. Someone told me to consider hiring these personal lawyers in Woking online, but I’m not sure how they can help with my situation. Is anyone here who has acquired their help for writing their will? I’d appreciate it if you share your gains from doing so. TIA.

The Running Man · 17 Sep 2020 at 08:25

Probably so that you do it right and that if you, do pass away,that the instructions can be legally carried out without any vagueness or ambiguity that might require legal recourse.

Terminal_Boy · 17 Sep 2020 at 08:41

The Running Man said:
Probably so that you do it right and that if you, do pass away,that the instructions can be legally carried out without any vagueness or ambiguity that might require legal recourse.

This ^.

Having set up a will in person, your lawyer/solicitor can also vouch for your being of sound mind and not under any duress.

mattyfez · 17 Sep 2020 at 08:55

Yep, if there's any contesting over your will, your inheritance can quickly be decimated by additional legal fees in the ensuing bun fight.
You may accidentally dis-inherit someone that you want to have a certain percentage or a certain asset, and they might not be able to afford to contest the will, either.

If you have children and re-marry for example, your new wife could stand to take the lot leaving your children nothing, how you want your estate to be shared out needs to be clearly spelled out in the correct legalise, and updated if your status or intent changes.

a 'DIY' will is probably only relevant if your estate is very simple, i.e. are a childless and want your wife to have everything. Equally a partner your not married to, may not automatically get anything if not specifically cited.

Ayahuasca · 17 Sep 2020 at 08:58

Are those personal lawyers based in the pizza express in Woking?

Yaayuh! · 17 Sep 2020 at 09:00

Interesting first post.

What tags does Google have on this forum exactly?!

peterwalkley · 17 Sep 2020 at 09:02

Wife and I used a local solicitor. The main advantage was that they were experienced enough to ask several "what if" questions that we had not remotely considered. Unless your estate is going to be peanuts, I would really advise seeing a professional. They're not going to be expensive, especially when compared with the nightmare you could leave behind with a poorly drafted or open to dispute will. Other thing I would say is to keep it as simple as possible.

Rannoch · 17 Sep 2020 at 09:06

Lots of those odd first post questions nowadays.

NVP · 17 Sep 2020 at 09:17

Rannoch said:
Lots of those odd first post questions nowadays.

It's good, let's keep this community alive and kicking

Dis86 · 17 Sep 2020 at 10:04

NVP said:
It's good, let's keep this community alive and kicking

By attracting 70 year old will writing enthusiasts? Not sure that's the required demographic for 'alive and kicking'.

NVP · 17 Sep 2020 at 10:32

Hahaha

SexyGreyFox · 17 Sep 2020 at 10:47

My Lawyer boss at least once a week is called over to wards where patients who are close to death have their wills done.
He only reads & witnesses it but they are always to do with fighting family and it needs to be wrote so that it is binding.

Yaayuh! · 17 Sep 2020 at 11:14

Dis86 said:
By attracting 70 year old will writing enthusiasts? Not sure that's the required demographic for 'alive and kicking'.

ANDARIAL · 17 Sep 2020 at 12:35

So how much (roughly) is a straight forward will by a lawyer then?

Surveyor · 17 Sep 2020 at 12:40

ANDARIAL said:
So how much (roughly) is a straight forward will by a lawyer then?

You can get a simple will for little or nothing.

Cheap and Free Wills

Arsonist · 17 Sep 2020 at 12:48

Ayahuasca said:
Are those personal lawyers based in the pizza express in Woking?

Interestingly yes they are. I only recall that because I've been to the pizza express there which for me is a highly unusual place to visit, so it sticks out in my mind. I also recall it was an exceptionally hot day, but unfortunately for me I have an unusual condition that means I don't sweat, despite the numerous photos of me in nightclubs where I'm positively dripping.

Chris Wilson · 17 Sep 2020 at 12:51

Unless you are in the rare and very fortunate position of being 110% certain the contents of your will will never be disputed in any way whatsoever you MAY be OK drafting something with on line assistance from a suitable web site. Meanwhile in the cruelty of the real world our lawyers grow fat and their empires expand as they happily mediate in the bitter disputes that regularly occur even before the body of the deceased is fully cold in the ground.

A professionally drafted will SHOULD be a watertight document not open to specious interpretation, but a lay person's attempt is highly unlikely to meet such a level. Get a good lawyer, fully competent in the English legal language, to do it. If you have a feeling there may be argy bargy after your demise then get another to then independently review it. Don't let the ******** get any fatter from your estate battling crocodile tear shedding relatives, salivating over your misplaced full stop.

Pawnless Endgame · 17 Sep 2020 at 13:24

Yaayuh! said:
Interesting first post.

What tags does Google have on this forum exactly?!

Rannoch said:
Lots of those odd first post questions nowadays.

Yeah we've had several first-post questions in the past fortnight then they run off. That Jekka Gal has stayed though and has made around 40 posts now.

Have our Dons entered extra meta tags into the forum's HTML? Search engines base a lot of their results on the mega tags found in HTML and the more subject matters the tags have, the more widely it will become searched.

Werewolf · 17 Sep 2020 at 13:51

ANDARIAL said:
So how much (roughly) is a straight forward will by a lawyer then?

IIRC it can be from about £75-150 up, my brother, father and I all updated our wills after my mother died and it cost ~£400 for all three but that's with the firm my father has used for 50 odd years.

It's worth getting it at least looked over by a solicitor vs doing it yourself as they are trained to ask the right questions, and know how to word it to avoid complications.

Gepetto · 17 Sep 2020 at 22:55

Dis86 said:
By attracting 70 year old will writing enthusiasts? Not sure that's the required demographic for 'alive and kicking'.

Cheeky so and so!

Although not quite the same age I'm only about a decade behind, and very much hope to be "alive & kicking at 70.

Will writing is something I'm looking at currently, and I seem to be looking at more the £700-£800 range for a quite simple will. That's through the company I work for and through my wife's company. I'll be watching this thread with interest.