Free and Cheap Wills discussion area

SailorSam

Hi people,
I've been trying to get around to re-write my Will for ages now. In my current Will i've got my Sister as an executor, one of the reasons i want to do a new will is all the family have had a big fall-out and i've been trying to decide who i could trust enough to be executor. Does anyone know if i left it all in the hands of a Solicitor what do they charge, would they give a set fee or put it down as a percentage of my estate.

petervq

cherrypie47 wrote: »

OK,
Today, having seen the 'free wills' heading on Martins email, I contacted a local solicitor on the scheme. I was told that I HAD to make a 'donation' of £75 paid at the time of writing the will, (not a bequest in the will), I said I couldn't afford anything like that - the solicitor at the othere end said - 'goodbye'. No question as to what I might be able to donate. I used a similar service a couple of years ago but you were asked to make a legacy/bequest in your will which was, in my opinion, a better option for me anyway.
I agree with an earlier post that you should get friends or relatives (but not one you intend to leave anything to), to be your executors.

I have only just joined the forums and have already learned a lot. With regard to cherry pie's experience I used the Will Aid site. Be careful everyone. The first solicitor I contacted advised me that they charge normal rates which were £180 plus vat for a couple, so they wanted a total of £216 for a basic will. When I quoted Will Aid stating it should be £150, they ignored. I have reported them to Will Aid and had a response which was not satisfactory. I think the solicitors were using it as an aid to get extra business, probably donating £150 and making something for themselves.

Errata

petervq wrote: »

I have only just joined the forums and have already learned a lot. With regard to cherry pie's experience I used the Will Aid site. Be careful everyone. The first solicitor I contacted advised me that they charge normal rates which were £180 plus vat for a couple, so they wanted a total of £216 for a basic will. When I quoted Will Aid stating it should be £150, they ignored. I have reported them to Will Aid and had a response which was not satisfactory. I think the solicitors were using it as an aid to get extra business, probably donating £150 and making something for themselves.

Solicitor's don't have to do "Will Aid" for everyone that rocks up.

From the Will Aid website -

Freedom to take on as many or as few Will Aid clients as you choose

ronangel

Mine is extremely simple will. I thought this was the service where the person uses the solicitor as executor or leaves certain amount (£95 or more?) to charity and solicitor the money being taken AFTER the person’s death from estate. This would I think make the charities and large solicitors firms (as I remember seeing else ware) much more money long term than going for a fee upfront which many people cannot or would not want to pay, plus of course the chance to become executor which could bring in far more money than the actual will writing fee. Which I am certain would be so in my case.Are there any charities or solicitors in the London area that provide this service.

Savvy_Sue

I am not sure exactly what you are asking: are you not wanting to pay a fee upfront, and wanting a donation of (say) £95 to go to the charity but only after your death?

If that's the case, I doubt if you will find anywhere which will offer that service.

Under the current scheme, the charity gets donations now, and the solicitor gets nothing, but hopes to be asked to be executor (which you don't have to agree to).

What you're suggesting could see charities get nothing, because you may have cause to change your will any number of times between now and your death.

TBagpuss

ronangel wrote: »

Mine is extremely simple will. I thought this was the service where the person uses the solicitor as executor or leaves certain amount (£95 or more?) to charity and solicitor the money being taken AFTER the person’s death from estate. This would I think make the charities and large solicitors firms (as I remember seeing else ware) much more money long term than going for a fee upfront which many people cannot or would not want to pay, plus of course the chance to become executor which could bring in far more money than the actual will writing fee. Which I am certain would be so in my case.Are there any charities or solicitors in the London area that provide this service.

The purpose of will aid is not to benefit you. It is to raise money for charity. You donate to the charity, the solicitor donates their time and expertise

Kalula

No way should you put your passwords in your Will, as advised by "Helen". Once probate has been granted your Will is in the public domain and can be read by anybody who chooses to buy a copy of it - would you want any Tom, !!!!!! & Harry to know all about your finances? What you should do is to make a list of your passwords and put them in a sealed envelope which you store securely with your Will so that only your Executor will have access to them when the time comes. And don't forget to let your Executor know where your Will is kept - seems obvious, but sometimes people don't do this; a friend of my grandparents hid his Will in a flowerpot in his greenhouse and it was quite some time before it was discovered!

g6jns_2

Kalula wrote: »

No way should you put your passwords in your Will, as advised by "Helen". Once probate has been granted your Will is in the public domain and can be read by anybody who chooses to buy a copy of it - would you want any Tom, !!!!!! & Harry to know all about your finances? What you should do is to make a list of your passwords and put them in a sealed envelope which you store securely with your Will so that only your Executor will have access to them when the time comes. And don't forget to let your Executor know where your Will is kept - seems obvious, but sometimes people don't do this; a friend of my grandparents hid his Will in a flowerpot in his greenhouse and it was quite some time before it was discovered!

Sorry to say that you should not leave a note of passwords to online accounts as this would breach the rules of using the bank's online systems. Once the bank is notified of the death access using them will be blocked anyway. They could also be stolen.

cinderfella

Took advantage of the free wills service last year. I am not UK resident but managed to see a guy in a London firm & got a will drawn up.
The firm went bust & the guy is not responding to emails. Furthermore they could not find the original will.
They did send a draft (the firm that took over) which I am adding a codicil to & depositing with the probate office in London next month.
My problem is that the beneficiaries are my two children whom I have not seen for about thirty years & do not know their whereabouts.
I am assuming that a will naming two children as executors but without an address would be an invalid will.
I had second thoughts about having made the solicitor firm an executor as they gave the impression that money was invented so that they could stuff their boots with it.
Any thoughts ?
Incidentally, I have no desire to meet my offspring again (leaving well alone) but will probably need some sort of address relating to them.

g6jns_2

cinderfella wrote: »

Took advantage of the free wills service last year. I am not UK resident but managed to see a guy in a London firm & got a will drawn up.
The firm went bust & the guy is not responding to emails. Furthermore they could not find the original will.
They did send a draft (the firm that took over) which I am adding a codicil to & depositing with the probate office in London next month.
My problem is that the beneficiaries are my two children whom I have not seen for about thirty years & do not know their whereabouts.
I am assuming that a will naming two children as executors but without an address would be an invalid will.
I had second thoughts about having made the solicitor firm an executor as they gave the impression that money was invented so that they could stuff their boots with it.
Any thoughts ?
Incidentally, I have no desire to meet my offspring again (leaving well alone) but will probably need some sort of address relating to them.

The would not be invalid but the seems little point in making one that the executor would find next to impossible to carry out. Far better to leave the money to a charity of your choice. As for having a solicitor as executor they are entitled to be paid for the work. The is plenty of competition between them so shop around. In any case Will Aid is not intended for those who can readily afford the normal fees. Finally I am not sure the scheme is intended to be used by non UK residents. In partiicular unless the testatotor is willing UK assets then a UK will is not appropriate.