It doesn’t matter how much or little you have. Make sure your Will is prepared by a FULLY qualified Solicitor. Why it’s a job for a Solicitor to prepare your Will, and no one else?
There are 5 very simple reasons why fully qualified solicitor-drafted Wills are the only way to go.
1. It takes six years to qualify as a Solicitor, but six hours to become a will writer. The difference in the price you pay does not always reflect that. When you pay for your Will, make sure your loved ones will not end up paying more when you are no longer here.
Whilst for an online will writer you are just a number, for a solicitor, you are a client and they have a responsibility to you, it’s not just another Will.
The bottom line is this - solicitors make sure you are protected, and your loved ones are protected. Their experience and specialist knowledge set them apart. While will writers have no worries about giving you the best service, solicitors have a minimum of £2 million insurance for YOUR Will being drafted properly.
2. A Will takes skill to prepare. You cannot say "But my dad meant x or mum wanted y". The words of the Will must speak for themselves completely and unambiguously.
Wills are bespoke documents, and they MUST be crafted with thought.
Each punctuation mark has a meaning and a reason to be exactly where they are. Misplaced, they can cause unnecessary problems, nightmares, that can be avoided very easily.
3. Each Will is different and like anything important achieved in a suspiciously short or long period of time, is an indication of possible error.
Typically. If a Will is prepared by a fully qualified Solicitor, it is a matter of a few days. That is because the Solicitor takes the instructions, can satisfy the self of mental capacity (or not as the case may be), prepare the Will and then execute it. It does not need to go to external advisors or internal supervisors for checking, avoiding the additional risk for error and delays.
Too quickly prepared Will is probably not worth it, and the same, if it’s done too slowly.
Your unique situation is what determines the timeline for how long it takes for a qualified solicitor to prepare your Will.
4. The past, present and future are all equally important.
A Will prepared without fully considering your past, previous marriages/civil partnerships and children from other relationships may leave your Will at serious risk of challenge on death when you are no longer here to fix it.
It is necessary for your Will solicitor (or a family law colleague Solicitor) to look at any previous financial remedy orders to ensure that you are fully protected.
5. A Will prepared without considering your life insurance and critical illness insurance needs are only looking at half the problem and creating half a solution. Only a financially qualified person can advise on life cover and critical illness cover etc.
At Penn Group we have a Solicitors practice fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and are specialists in Family Law and Wills. We also have a mortgage company fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority that specialises in (mortgages and) life insurance and protections like critical illness cover.
Contact us to give you comprehensive and complete peace of mind when making your Will and LPAs.
Please contact us with your questions:
Penn Chambers
Wills & Probate team
020 1830 1485
The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute professional advice and you should take full and comprehensive legal, accountancy or financial advice as appropriate on your individual circumstances by a fully qualified Solicitor, Accountant or Financial Advisor/Mortgage Broker before you embark on any course of action.
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