Cost of a will

freddie2 · 4 March 2018 at 10:24PM

My partner and I got married just before Christmas and we are about to sort out our wills.
We both have a daughter from previous relationships (both adults), and a fairly large estate ( £2.5m plus ). We will be leaving most to our daughters but given the size of the estate I assume this will be a more complex type of will. Through my employer I am able to access a solicitor to produce “complex” mirror wills for £600 inc VAT, does this sound reasonable ?

sassyblue · 4 March 2018 at 11:30PM

I think it sounds expensive, I work in a solicitors and mirror wills are half that amount, however I live in the countryside where things are generally cheaper, if you live in a city it could be about right? When you mention 'complex' I wouldn't say the amount of your estate makes it complex either.

Ms_Chocaholic · 4 March 2018 at 11:34PM

Do you plan on leaving everything to your wife (and vice versa) and hope that they leave something in their will to the other partner's child?

Keep_pedalling · 4 March 2018 at 11:52PM

For an estate that size it sounds peanuts, but I would not use them unless they are local to you and you can actually have face to face meetings.

Are you taking any professional advice about the very large IHT bill your estates would be hit with if you were both run over by a buss tomorrow?

freddie2 · 5 March 2018 at 7:57AM

Ms_Chocaholic wrote: »

Do you plan on leaving everything to your wife (and vice versa) and hope that they leave something in their will to the other partner's child?

No, we consider both girls ours so we want to ensure they the benefit equally from the inheritance and do not want to leave that to chance

freddie2 · 5 March 2018 at 8:03AM

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

For an estate that size it sounds peanuts, but I would not use them unless they are local to you and you can actually have face to face meetings.

Are you taking any professional advice about the very large IHT bill your estates would be hit with if you were both run over by a buss tomorrow?

This is the company concerned. https://www.james-mckenzie.co.uk , face to face interviews are included.
Yes currently getting all our finance / tax affairs in order post marriage!

Keep_pedalling · 5 March 2018 at 9:26AM

freddie2 wrote: »

This is the company concerned. https://www.james-mckenzie.co.uk , face to face interviews are included.
Yes currently getting all our finance / tax affairs in order post marriage!

They are not solicitors, but unregulated will writers, please find a local solisitor instead.

getmore4less · 5 March 2018 at 10:13AM

sassyblue wrote: »

I think it sounds expensive, I work in a solicitors and mirror wills are half that amount, however I live in the countryside where things are generally cheaper, if you live in a city it could be about right? When you mention 'complex' I wouldn't say the amount of your estate makes it complex either.

They require multi generational IHT planning and something a little more complex than a basic IPDI trust.

Ask your place if they will do them for £300.

At this level(>2m) you don't qualify for all the RNRB if not done right.

TBagpuss · 5 March 2018 at 4:37PM

I's suggest that you arrange to met with a local solicitor, preferably one who is a member of STEP.

As with many other things in life, you get what you pay for. If you want advice about tax and estate planning it will cost you more than if you literally just want a basic will drawn up.

Given that you have a large estate and children to consider, you need to make sure that you get proper advice from a regulated, professional adviser.

Cost of a will

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