Free Will: November's WillAid Month

gonnaberich

Surely the poiint is that the money is going to charity and not into the solicitor's pocket. I had my will done 2 years ago and I think the donation was about £90. I was happy with the deal because the money was going to a good cause.

nuttytart_2

I contacted my local participating solicitor today to book an appointment, then was told at the end of the conversation that the charge would be £110 for 2 wills. I did query this, but they said this was a fixed price and that I had to bring a cheque made payable to the solicitors, and they would make a bulk donation to the charity after the scheme!
Should I be reporting this solicitor?

willaid_press_officer

nuttytart wrote:

I contacted my local participating solicitor today to book an appointment, then was told at the end of the conversation that the charge would be £110 for 2 wills. I did query this, but they said this was a fixed price and that I had to bring a cheque made payable to the solicitors, and they would make a bulk donation to the charity after the scheme!
Should I be reporting this solicitor?

Sometimes solicitors do collect the money and then send us a cheque at the end with copies of all the receipts they have issued. It's just more work for them really. So that is fine. But we need to gently remind this solicitor that there is no charge but a donation. If you send me a private message, I'll see that it's followed up.

trixiehotlegs_2

You can make whats called a "Codicil" which is an add-on to a will and it shouldn't cost as much to do. Phone & ask for a price. Otherwise, if you need to make an adjustment to your existing will (i.e. removing something/somone) then your solicitor will usually do that for a much cheaper price than making a new Will. Hope that helps!

EMcG

I have just got back from the solicitor taking part in the Will Aid scheme here in Bedford. No problems whatsoever, details taken, will being drawn up and sent to us next week. Then we return to the office to sign it. We then make the donation. The solicitor made it clear that the amount we donated was entirely up to us and also explained about giving an extra 28p per £1 donated via Gift Aid (I think that was what it was called.)

All in all, an excellent experience, peace of mind, good causes better off and possible future trade for the solictors themselves.

Highly recommended.

poorbutrich

This is a really great idea, and thanks so much to the OP. However, I'm having to call around the solicitors in my area, as the first one said: "We only do basic wills, that is someone is going to leave everything to their spouses or children".

I don't have either of these

poorbutrich

Ah second time lucky! Will let you know how it goes!

willaid_press_officer

poorbutrich wrote:

This is a really great idea, and thanks so much to the OP. However, I'm having to call around the solicitors in my area, as the first one said: "We only do basic wills, that is someone is going to leave everything to their spouses or children".

I don't have either of these

If you don't have a spouse or children then, unless you are very rich and want to do something complicated with your money, then I would have thought a basic will is just what you need. Will Aid solicitors can do the basic will under the scheme and then charge their normal fee for IHT planning etc.

poorbutrich

Thanks Willaid Press Officer - I can assure you that I'm not very rich, nor did I want to do anything very special with my (very meagre) assets! Funny that the solicitor's office automatically assumed I wanted to do something complicated simply because I'm not married or a parent...perhaps it was my lack of legal knowledge that caused the problem.

I've booked an appointment with another solicitor, and am confident it will go well. Many thanks for taking the time to answer our queries - it looks like a great scheme, and I hope it raises lots for these worthy causes.

Rikki

The Will Aid scheme was first mentioned HERE by samjockey.

2nd time