Wills and lifetime service support - are they worth it?

Omoe

Hi, my first time posting and I’m just looking for some opinions and advice.
GENERALLY speaking, how does everyone feel about lifetime will writing services? NOT any specify company, just the general notion of a will writing service providing a lifetime support which might include:-
*storing your will without extra charge
*allowing unlimited updates without extra charge
*probate support for yourself and immediate family (parents & siblings) without extra charge

Of course there’s an initial price to pay, however do people think this kind of service is worth it and what price would people be willing to pay for this? For example you can make a guest-imation and say:-
*If a new joint will costs (£X) each time and if you’re a young family you may make (Y) number of updates over the course of your life (e.g. new house so new address and property asset, second baby comes along, parents pass way who might have been a guardian for your child/their grandchild etc…………..)
*probate support from a solicitor or another will writing company may cost (£Z).

If you take into account X, Y and Z do you think that this kind of service has a value or am I missing some angle here?? Maybe I’ve thought about this too much and I’m trying to answer a question which doesn’t exist?? I have no idea in practice where people normally store their wills and I have no experience of how often people (need/should) update their wills over their lifetime. If people have real life experience of managing their wills without the assistance of these lifetime service agreements I would very appreciate your feedback and advice. Apologies if a thread similar to this already exists.

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

I'd be unlikely to use such a service.

We made our first wills when the boys were young. We spent a few years dithering over making new ones to reflect the fact that they didn't need guardians any more, and the charities to which we'd like our money to go if we all went together had changed.

We've just made new ones. We may need to update them one more time, but I think it unlikely.

Mojisola

Omoe wrote: »

GENERALLY speaking, how does everyone feel about lifetime will writing services? NOT any specify company, just the general notion of a will writing service providing a lifetime support which might include:-
*storing your will without extra charge
*allowing unlimited updates without extra charge
*probate support for yourself and immediate family (parents & siblings) without extra charge

I wouldn't use it.

How would you know that the company would still be operating in twenty/thirty/forty years time or that it would be run by people you would want to do business with? I certainly wouldn't name a company as executors.

If a will is written property, it will take account of possible future events so, while it's worth reviewing a will regularly, it shouldn't need rewriting too often.

Our solicitor stores our wills at no cost.

noh

I would not use such a service as its cost is likely to be too high.
Will storage costs nothing with most solicitors. My preference would be to keep it at home anyway. I wouldn't trust a will writing service with storage.
Probate support, if needed, is a decision the executor can take and pay for from the estate.
I have so far paid for two wills and don't envisage having to change the existing one.

RAS

The best way to store wills is with the probate service http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetLeaflet.do?court_leaflets_id=1033 which costs £20.

They are not going to change hands, like a solicitor, or go out of business like some banks.

And it cannot just be destroyed as a will left at home could be.

FreeBear

I only plan on having one will written, with an extra copy made. The original to be stored free of charge by the solicitors and the copy to be kept in a safe at home. The total cost for this should be around £150 (maybe cheaper if I wait for Will Aid).

Solicitor firms do disappear over time, but they are usually absorbed by another company and rarely vanish without a trace. Can the same be said about a will writing firm ?

If the lifetime charge was similar to the cost from a solicitor, then I'd perhaps consider it, but I'd still want a copy of the will to store at home.

TBagpuss

I personally would not use it.

(i) I would prefer to have my will prepared by a solicitor. They are far more tightly regulated than will-writers, and are far less likely to disappear without trace.
(ii) Your circumstances may change over time, it may not be convenient to keep with the same company, they may not have branches/advisors in the right (physical) place, if you move house
(iii) even if they offer a good service initially, you don't know whether they will continue to do so, and if you are locked in to using their services, you may feel less able to move elsewhere for a better service.
(iv) You have no way of knowing whether your executors/ beneficiaries will want, or need, their services, or whether they will be the best or most convenient choice if they do.

I would also read the small print very, very carefully, if you decide to go ahead. For example, unlimited updates - updating a will is simple, the cost is in getting appropriate advice to do so. Simialrly, if you read the small print you will probably find that there are all sorts of conditions and exceptions to the 'umlimited' and 'free' parts, or provision to allow them to start charging in the future.

To be honest, if I saw an ad for such a service I would expect it to either be very, very expensive, to cover the costs of providing the service offered, thus putting you at risk of losing your 'investment' in the service is it goes under or ceases to be useful to you, or to be unable to provide a quality service, particularly in the future.

Seeing a solicitor to make a will is not expensive.

g6jns_2

Omoe wrote: »

Hi, my first time posting and I’m just looking for some opinions and advice.
GENERALLY speaking, how does everyone feel about lifetime will writing services? NOT any specify company, just the general notion of a will writing service providing a lifetime support which might include:-
*storing your will without extra charge
*allowing unlimited updates without extra charge
*probate support for yourself and immediate family (parents & siblings) without extra charge

Of course there’s an initial price to pay, however do people think this kind of service is worth it and what price would people be willing to pay for this? For example you can make a guest-imation and say:-
*If a new joint will costs (£X) each time and if you’re a young family you may make (Y) number of updates over the course of your life (e.g. new house so new address and property asset, second baby comes along, parents pass way who might have been a guardian for your child/their grandchild etc…………..)
*probate support from a solicitor or another will writing company may cost (£Z).

If you take into account X, Y and Z do you think that this kind of service has a value or am I missing some angle here?? Maybe I’ve thought about this too much and I’m trying to answer a question which doesn’t exist?? I have no idea in practice where people normally store their wills and I have no experience of how often people (need/should) update their wills over their lifetime. If people have real life experience of managing their wills without the assistance of these lifetime service agreements I would very appreciate your feedback and advice. Apologies if a thread similar to this already exists.

Thanks

Don 't touch them with a barge pole! The fees will be hidden in the cost for obtaining probate. Get a recommendation fro a friend for a local solicitor to do the job. Remember there are no "free" lunches!

Omoe

Thanks for all your quick responses. Its definitely food for thought. It sounds like my concerns around updating wills regularly is in reality not much of an issue since most wills are written to take into account many future scenarios (e.g. worth reviewing but not required to be rewritten regularly).

So that I can get the most un-biased feedback I feel I probably should clarify a few details.
• The organisation does NOT require themselves to be named as an Executor for this lifetime service to be provided
• Copies of the will are provided to the clients, only the originals are stored by them
• Apparently the organisation uses qualified solicitors to write up the wills themselves
• As a member of the Society of Will Writers, in the event of the organisation going bust, this lifetime service will be provided by another member (apparently the organisation is insured to cover this scenario). Not sure in practice how this works or if it can be relied upon.
• I was led to believe probate support from a typical solicitor could cost a significant proportion of the estate (e.g. 4%.....) so getting this included in the service is a good thing? Especially if the estate is intended for your children so thus maximising the amount that gets passed on to them.

I appreciate most of these additional points all rely on the reputation and the word of the organisation itself so it may not add much to this conversation.
I’m not trying to justify or promote the service, I’m was just unaware of what the alternative options and their associated costs were? However I am beginning to get a much clearer picture now. Thanks for the help.

Regards

RAS

In 40 years time, will your beneficiaries have a clue where to look? Use on of the centralised services; a one-off fee of £20-40 is peanuts.

Banks can charge 4-5%. Solicitors is more likely to be 1-2%.

The intelligent thing is to appoint a family member or friend as executor; they can use a solicitor if they need to at cost rather than as a percentage..

TonyMMM

It is true a solicitor dealing with probate will often charge a % of the estate value ( we were quoted 2% a few years ago) in addition to their hourly charge. These charges may be negotiable to some extent. Suggesting 4% sounds like a big exaggeration to try and scare you.

However, dealing with most estates isn't that difficult and there is no need to employ a solicitor at all and certainly never to name them as executor. If specific legal advice or work is needed the executors can always get that done separately from any probate work.

These companies make their money by getting you to pay upfront for services you are unlikely to need, could get cheaper elsewhere, or easily do yourself. They will also try every bit of persuasion they can to get themselves named as executors ( where they can really make their money).