solicitors charge for will?

inneed

Has anyone any idea approximately how much a solicitor would charge to draw up a will? My father wants to leave a small amount to his great-grandchildren, and the rest to be divided equally between his children. The total amount of the estate, including his house, would probably be around £120k.
Thanks.

dzug1

It varies wildly - some will charge nothing or next to nothing if they are made executors (on the grounds they can charge the earth later) - others will charge a reasonable amount. Maybe £200-300?

bobthedambuilder

You can download simple will templates for free (Google "free will templates UK"), and adapt them to your father's situation, which sounds relatively uncomplicated.

In the clause(s) which covers bequests, simply have him state what specific bequests he wishes to make to the great-grandchildren (names and amounts), and then state that the residue of his estate is to be divided equally between his children (also to be named). He can also state that if any of his children dies before him, the share that child would have taken should be given to his or her own children equally.

He will need 2 witnesses when he signs and dates the will.

cabbage

have a look at willaid.org, many solicitors will offer a free Will in return for a donation to charity after your death. When drawing up a Will most solicitors will name themselves as executors. They will charge a fee for doing this so if you don't want to incur this fee then make sure someone else is named as exector or executrix. The fee can be from £60 per will plus VAT. Shop around for the best price

Old_Git

I know relatives that where charged nothing to make a will .
The solicitor was not the executor ,but they make there money from the probate when the person dies .

inneed

Thanks everyone. Cabbage, as far as I can see willaid runs in November, and free wills months are March and October, so just missed out on them. I've taken a look at Which wills, and think that when Dad is out of hospital I will get him round, and we could do it online. Mum had a diy will, but it basically left everything to Dad, so no problems there - I'm just a bit more wary with the house involved.

bobthedambuilder

I don't think you necessarily need to worry about the house complicating things. At the end of the day, it's just another asset with a value, and goes into the pot to be divided along with any other assets. It might however take some time to realise the asset in today's market.

The will itself needn't be complicated. You may want to consider the help of a lawyer to sort out the probate etc. It's a lot of paperwork for an inexperienced layman.

I can think of one complication. If one of your siblings is still living with your father, perhaps he would like that person to continue to live there (but not want to pass full ownership to that person, which would be unfair on the other siblings). In this case you/he'd be better consulting a lawyer to see how to set up the will (could be some kind of a trust). As dzug said yesterday, £200-300 should get you a bespoke lawyer-drafted will.

cabbage

inneed wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Cabbage, as far as I can see willaid runs in November, and free wills months are March and October, so just missed out on them. I've taken a look at Which wills, and think that when Dad is out of hospital I will get him round, and we could do it online. Mum had a diy will, but it basically left everything to Dad, so no problems there - I'm just a bit more wary with the house involved.

Hi

some solicitors offer free wills all year round linked to certain charities - its worth looking in their office window when you pass by. Although its possibly to do your own Will or use a will writing firm (please don't!), I would always prefer someone with specialist legal knowledge ie a solicitor to write it to save any problems later on - its your choice though but a few pounds spent now could save hundreds if not thousands later on. If you use a firm of solicitors you can always complain to them or the Law Society if something goes wrong.

Good luck with it all

getmore4less

Don't forget that any benifitiary is under 18 creates trusts so you need to think about who will be the trustees default is executor, but parents may be a better option.

If the Distribution will require the sale of the house are all the siblings on the same wavelength or any interested in taking it on.

Mojisola

Old_Git wrote: »

I know relatives that where charged nothing to make a will .
The solicitor was not the executor ,but they make there money from the probate when the person dies .

How do they make any money if they aren't the executors?

bobthedambuilder

Mojisola wrote: »

How do they make any money if they aren't the executors?

They charge by the hour for providing advice and dealing with probate etc. The executors can appoint then to do this. Acting as executor is just another service.