Free and Cheap Wills discussion area

fm950384

Hi all,
Last year I got divorced and I am now living with my new partner. Whilst married I created a Will and as I understand it any reference to the ex-wife is rendered null and void. My question is this, if I were to copy my old will, replace any reference to the Ex with the new partnered and replace my executor, I assume that there would be no need for a solicitor? All of my estate will be left to my new partner and my children.
Thanks for any help.

Doc_N

fm950384 said:

Hi all,
Last year I got divorced and I am now living with my new partner. Whilst married I created a Will and as I understand it any reference to the ex-wife is rendered null and void. My question is this, if I were to copy my old will, replace any reference to the Ex with the new partnered and replace my executor, I assume that there would be no need for a solicitor? All of my estate will be left to my new partner and my children.
Thanks for any help.

I'd be very wary indeed about not seeing a solicitor - it's really not that expensive if you shop around, and lawyers make far more money out of sorting out estates with invalid or disputed wills than they do out of making the wills themselves.

This might also be of interest:

https://www.irwinmitchell.com/personal/wills-trusts-estates/wills/guide/divorce

scottwinner3

Hi Moneysavers.
When my dad passed away 3 years ago, I helped my mum sort through all the paperwork etc and at the time also set up power of attorney etc. When we checked the will she and my dad had set up, we found it was a mirror will (as expected), and that if both my parents passed away the estate would be split equally between myself , my brother and sister. 
At the time I thought that the will was OK to just leave running 'as is', and that the intent would still be that when my mum passes the estate would be split 3 ways. Is this assumption correct (I have recently been told it might bot be), or should I talk with my mum about getting a new will made up?
If so, I was thinking of using the MSE discount code for the Which? will writing service. Has anybody used this and would recommend it?
Many Thanks, Scott.

Mojisola

scottwinner3 said:

When we checked the will she and my dad had set up, we found it was a mirror will (as expected), and that if both my parents passed away the estate would be split equally between myself , my brother and sister. 
At the time I thought that the will was OK to just leave running 'as is', and that the intent would still be that when my mum passes the estate would be split 3 ways. Is this assumption correct

Without seeing the exact wording, impossible to say for certain but this is a normal arrangement in a will, made so that the survivor doesn't need to make a new will after the first death.

What reason were you given by the person who thought the estate wouldn't be divided between the three children?

BlueWoo

Hello All
It's the anniversary of my Late Uncle tomorrow and it's about time I changed my Will.

I have a current Will, where I need to update information eg change of addresses, death of my late Uncle, take out some names I don't want to leave money to, and change the charities I do leave money to.  I'm not talking major amounts here, so when I found out it would cost £200 to do that..... 

I thought, if I already have the Will written up, by a reputable Solicitor and we went in depth into the Will,  what is wrong with me getting it typed up, along with the changes to names (which appear as lines a, b, c etc under a eg a pecuniary heading) and getting it the signatures witnessed by people who aren't mentioned in the will?

Any constructive advice welcomed.

Thank you

Doc_N

BlueWoo said:

Hello All
It's the anniversary of my Late Uncle tomorrow and it's about time I changed my Will.

I have a current Will, where I need to update information eg change of addresses, death of my late Uncle, take out some names I don't want to leave money to, and change the charities I do leave money to.  I'm not talking major amounts here, so when I found out it would cost £200 to do that..... 

I thought, if I already have the Will written up, by a reputable Solicitor and we went in depth into the Will,  what is wrong with me getting it typed up, along with the changes to names (which appear as lines a, b, c etc under a eg a pecuniary heading) and getting it the signatures witnessed by people who aren't mentioned in the will?

Any constructive advice welcomed.

Thank you

In principle, absolutely nothing. Provided that:

1 You fully understand the meaning of each and every clause.

2  They accurately express your wishes.

3  You understand and fully comply with all the legal requirements for a valid will - witnessing is a key area, but there are others.

Plenty of online advice available online from reputable sources re 3, but mistakes are common and you do need to know exactly what you’re doing.

Mojisola

BlueWoo said:

I thought, if I already have the Will written up, by a reputable Solicitor and we went in depth into the Will,  what is wrong with me getting it typed up, along with the changes to names (which appear as lines a, b, c etc under a eg a pecuniary heading) and getting it the signatures witnessed by people who aren't mentioned in the will?

I second Doc_N's post.

As an example, if either of your witnesses are the spouse of a beneficiary, that beneficiary would not be allowed to receive their inheritance.

If you do go ahead, research well!

naedanger

BlueWoo said:

Hello All
It's the anniversary of my Late Uncle tomorrow and it's about time I changed my Will.

I have a current Will, where I need to update information eg change of addresses, death of my late Uncle, take out some names I don't want to leave money to, and change the charities I do leave money to.  I'm not talking major amounts here, so when I found out it would cost £200 to do that..... 

I thought, if I already have the Will written up, by a reputable Solicitor and we went in depth into the Will,  what is wrong with me getting it typed up, along with the changes to names (which appear as lines a, b, c etc under a eg a pecuniary heading) and getting it the signatures witnessed by people who aren't mentioned in the will?

Any constructive advice welcomed.

Thank you

The end result would still not be a solicitor prepared will and so it might be subject to greater risk of the circumstances around its preparation being challenged. When a will has been prepared by a solicitor and presumably witnessed by people from the solicitor's office it is just that little bit harder to argue that the writer was pressurised, or misled etc. 

scottwinner3

Mojisola said:

scottwinner3 said:

When we checked the will she and my dad had set up, we found it was a mirror will (as expected), and that if both my parents passed away the estate would be split equally between myself , my brother and sister. 
At the time I thought that the will was OK to just leave running 'as is', and that the intent would still be that when my mum passes the estate would be split 3 ways. Is this assumption correct

Without seeing the exact wording, impossible to say for certain but this is a normal arrangement in a will, made so that the survivor doesn't need to make a new will after the first death.

What reason were you given by the person who thought the estate wouldn't be divided between the three children?

Thanks Mojisola
I think that the concern was that because the will in place was written as a mirror will (i.e. including my Dad), that the will would then be seen as 'outdated' some way, and would then need to go to probate and the drawn out resolution that would entail.
Are there any phrases or wording in the current will that I could check for which would indicate that it is OK to carry on in a roll over fashion? I appreciate your comments.

Mojisola

scottwinner3 said:

I think that the concern was that because the will in place was written as a mirror will (i.e. including my Dad), that the will would then be seen as 'outdated' some way, and would then need to go to probate and the drawn out resolution that would entail.
Are there any phrases or wording in the current will that I could check for which would indicate that it is OK to carry on in a roll over fashion?

Even if being 'outdated' was a thing, a will doesn't have to go to probate because it's 'outdated' - it depends on the value of the estate, whether the companies holding the capital will release the money without probate, whether there is a property, shares, etc.

My parents' wills were mirror wills and so are mine and my husband's.  The survivor's will is perfectly valid after the spouse has died.