Making a will if you are alone & don't have executor or witnesses?

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I had a look at Will Aid that whitewing mentioned and it looks like a great idea. The scheme is that the solicitor doesn't charge a fee and you donate a sum of money to charity instead of paying their fee.

I contacted a few local solicitors through the Will Aid web site and they all said they could witness the will at no extra charge, and also provide executor services for which they would only take fees from your estate after death, no charge for this when you actually make the will.

So anyone thinking of making a will soon have a look at the the Will Aid web site,the scheme is only running during november I think.

antrobus

TBagpuss wrote: »

....Witnesses need only be:
-over 18
-not beneficiaries under the will or married to a beneficiary
- not related to you

...

There is actually no legal reguirement that a witness has to be over 18. As a general rule, people are always advised to ensure that witnesses are over 18, simply in order to avoid any disputes as to whether or not the they had the competence to be a witness. But a will witnessed by two 16 year-olds would still be valid so long as a court was satisifed that the 16 year-olds were aware of what they were actually witnessing.

There is no bar on beneficiaries being witnesses either. The will would be valid; it simply means that the benficiary loses their right to the bequest contained in the will. Which rather undermines the point of making the will, which is why people are advised to ensure this is not the case.

There is definitely no requirement that the witnesses are not related to the testator.

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/estate-law/formalities-making-a-will-s9-wills-act.htm

Errata

Heffalump wrote: »

I contacted a few local solicitors through the Will Aid web site and they all said they could witness the will at no extra charge, and also provide executor services for which they would only take fees from your estate after death, no charge for this when you actually make the will.

.

That's because solicitors can't charge for work they haven't undertaken.

TBagpuss

antrobus wrote: »

There is actually no legal reguirement that a witness has to be over 18. As a general rule, people are always advised to ensure that witnesses are over 18, simply in order to avoid any disputes as to whether or not the they had the competence to be a witness. But a will witnessed by two 16 year-olds would still be valid so long as a court was satisifed that the 16 year-olds were aware of what they were actually witnessing.

There is no bar on beneficiaries being witnesses either. The will would be valid; it simply means that the benficiary loses their right to the bequest contained in the will. Which rather undermines the point of making the will, which is why people are advised to ensure this is not the case.

There is definitely no requirement that the witnesses are not related to the testator.

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/estate-law/formalities-making-a-will-s9-wills-act.htm

Witnesses must be adults.
Witnesses should not be beneficiaries as the point of making a will is that your estate goes to those you have chosen to benefit. While it is correct that having a beneficiary as a witness does not invalidate the will, it does defeat the testator's objectives, so it is an incredibly stupid thing to do.

It is generally good practice not to have witnesses who are closely related to the testator or to any beneficiary as this can cause problems with allegations of undue influence.

It is perfectly possible to comply with legal formalities and still end up with a will which does not reflect the wishes of the testator or which is open to challenge.

antrobus

TBagpuss wrote: »

Witnesses must be adults....

Doesn't say that in the Wills Act 1837

The witness must be capable of attesting at the time the will was executed. A minor can witness a will but not a young child since he/she will not be capable of understanding the importance of witnessing the will’s execution.

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/estate-law/formalities-making-a-will-s9-wills-act.htm

TBagpuss wrote: »

...Witnesses should not be beneficiaries as the point of making a will is that your estate goes to those you have chosen to benefit. While it is correct that having a beneficiary as a witness does not invalidate the will, it does defeat the testator's objectives, so it is an incredibly stupid thing to do. ....

Yes, that's what I said.

TBagpuss wrote: »

....It is generally good practice not to have witnesses who are closely related to the testator or to any beneficiary as this can cause problems with allegations of undue influence.

It is perfectly possible to comply with legal formalities and still end up with a will which does not reflect the wishes of the testator or which is open to challenge.

Saying that witnesses "need" to be "not related" to the testator implies that it's one of those "legal formalities" you refer to. It isn't. You were getting confused over the issue of "undue influence"; it's whether or not they're closely related to a beneficiary that matters.

Torry_Quine

You only need one witness in Scotland

antrobus

Torry_Quine wrote: »

You only need one witness in Scotland

Correct. And I think the Scottish "age of legal capacity" is 16. So that one witness would not have to be "over 18" either.:)

TBagpuss

antrobus wrote: »

Doesn't say that in the Wills Act 1837

The witness must be capable of attesting at the time the will was executed. A minor can witness a will but not a young child since he/she will not be capable of understanding the importance of witnessing the will’s execution.

http://www.inbrief.co.uk/estate-law/formalities-making-a-will-s9-wills-act.htm



Yes, that's what I said.



Saying that witnesses "need" to be "not related" to the testator implies that it's one of those "legal formalities" you refer to. It isn't. You were getting confused over the issue of "undue influence"; it's whether or not they're closely related to a beneficiary that matters.

Nope. Not confused at all. Practical.

I'm starting from the assumption that the testator wants to achieve a will which will actually result in the people who they want to inherit, inheriting. there are plenty of things which are not going to invalidate a will but which are a bad idea. Your advice would result in a will which was technically valid but which did not end up with the result the testator wanted.

carlislelass

whitewing wrote: »

Solicitors will do both.

Don't forget WillAid (not sure if that's now or November)

October, got ours updated after 20 yrs

Torry_Quine

carlislelass wrote: »

October, got ours updated after 20 yrs

http://www.willaid.org.uk/

It's just now ie November