Will writing

zyper

Hi all

I need to get my & my wife's joint will sorted & have been quoted a figure of £250 which I thought was steep despite the firm being good & reputable. The will is without complications with just a few special clauses included. I know from reading these pages that internet firms cannot always provide the proper type one is after (I had an email from wowcher offering a mirror will for 2 for £15!).

Is the price quoted realy reflected of the security we'll get in having a watertight will & worth spending it? What are others' experinece

Thanks in advance

Paul_Herring

£250 for joint wills doesn't seem too extortionate, but I expect you haven't seen http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills, you could probably get it done cheaper.

CLAPTON

zyper wrote: »

Hi all

I need to get my & my wife's joint will sorted & have been quoted a figure of £250 which I thought was steep despite the firm being good & reputable. The will is without complications with just a few special clauses included. I know from reading these pages that internet firms cannot always provide the proper type one is after (I had an email from wowcher offering a mirror will for 2 for £15!).

Is the price quoted realy reflected of the security we'll get in having a watertight will & worth spending it? What are others' experinece

Thanks in advance

no such thing as a joint will

'just a few special clauses ' may or may not be complicated

but you can do it for nothing if you understand the law

Mr_Prudent

As one poster has said £250 is not that expensive for a husband and wife/partner will. A solicitor can charge anything up to £500, or more depending on the complexity. A will writer will be about half that. Of course you could write your own provided it is witnessed and signed. You can buy a will kit from most stationers for around £15-£20. Bear in mind the recent news story of the daughter who contested her late mothers will, having been disinherited and you may want to choose something a little more robust. Also don’t forget the cost of amendments and storage.

CLAPTON

Mr_Prudent wrote: »

As one poster has said £250 is not that expensive for a husband and wife/partner will. A solicitor can charge anything up to £500, or more depending on the complexity. A will writer will be about half that. Of course you could write your own provided it is witnessed and signed. You can buy a will kit from most stationers for around £15-£20. Bear in mind the recent news story of the daughter who contested her late mothers will, having been disinherited and you may want to choose something a little more robust. Also don’t forget the cost of amendments and storage.

what amendments and what storage?

noh

Our straightforward mirror wills were £195 + VAT from a local solicitor two years ago.
Cost of storage is zero.

Mr_Prudent

[FONT=&quot]I believe some solicitors and will writers make a charge for storage. As for amendments, people circumstances may change over the years and again I believe there is a charge if you want something altered added or deleted at a later date. Obviously these sort of things need to be discussed at the initial stage of the process of making your will[FONT=&quot] so that the costs are clear.
[/FONT][/FONT]

TBagpuss

It would be normal to be charged for updating or making changes to a will.

Storage will vary - solicitors are less likely than will-writers and banks to charge (and your will is more likely to be safe!) You can always chose to hold the wills yourself if you don't wont to pay for storage.

£250 is very reasonable. You are paying for the expertise and experience of the solicitor - it's a very important document and getting it wrong could cost your or your heirs thousands.

Paul_Herring

TBagpuss wrote: »

...it's a very important document and getting it wrong could cost your or your heirs thousands.

Or gain your heirs thousands...

zagfles

TBagpuss wrote: »

It would be normal to be charged for updating or making changes to a will.

Storage will vary - solicitors are less likely than will-writers and banks to charge (and your will is more likely to be safe!) You can always chose to hold the wills yourself if you don't wont to pay for storage.

£250 is very reasonable. You are paying for the expertise and experience of the solicitor - it's a very important document and getting it wrong could cost your or your heirs thousands.

The other thing that could cost your hiers thousands is if you make the solicitor the executor. Your hiers are then stuck with them and the charges can be horrendous and so can the time it takes.

Make the main beneficiary/ies the executors - they can always pay for legal advice if they need it and they'll be able to shop around rather than be relying on the named solicitor who'll have no incentive to get things sorted quickly and efficiently.

LHW99

I second zagfles comment - and in addition if they have retired and your family doesn't know them, then an ex-solicitor can be hard to track down in order to obtain a signature to say they won't insist on acting.