Will Writing Services

Mojisola

We also have a more personal service than -
"an interactive will questionnaire
draft wills prepared by a qualified solicitor
up to 20 minutes in telephone or Skype consultation with a solicitor"
http://www.willsatwork.com/our-services/

20vt-rs

This also looks good value at the moment:
http://willsoffers.which.co.uk/ml12

Debating pros and cons of doing this over the work method. Any comments welcomed

Yorkshireman99

20vt-rs wrote: »

This also looks good value at the moment:
http://willsoffers.which.co.uk/ml12

Debating pros and cons of doing this over the work method. Any comments welcomed

Still no substitute for a face to face consultation with a solicitor.

securityguy

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Still no substitute for a face to face consultation with a solicitor.

Absolutely. I really cannot understand the reluctance people have to do the thing properly, preferring to pay for a half-assed job. It's not even as if the second-rate alternatives are substantially cheaper.

Biggles

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Avoid them like the plague! Will writers are unqualified.

Not true. If they're a member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (ipw.org.uk), they are qualified and properly trained.

However, not all solicitors are. You need, apparently, a STEP solicitor to be sure he is up-to-date with willwriting.

And if you can find a STEP solicitor that charges £90, that's one thing. But if one of his conditions includes naming himself as executor, he'll make money hand over fist for that, often small, job.

As regards storage, you can use the Probate Office; when we stored our wills there I think it was £15 with no ongoing charges.

Yorkshireman99

Biggles wrote: »

Not true. If they're a member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (ipw.org.uk), they are qualified and properly trained.

However, not all solicitors are. You need, apparently, a STEP solicitor to be sure he is up-to-date with willwriting.

And if you can find a STEP solicitor that charges £90, that's one thing. But if one of his conditions includes naming himself as executor, he'll make money hand over fist for that, often small, job.

As regards storage, you can use the Probate Office; when we stored our wills there I think it was £15 with no ongoing charges.

Non solicitor will writers are simply not adequately trained to anything like the level solicitors are. STEP members are qualified specifucly in dealing with trusts that may not be relevant to many wills. Nor do many will writers have adequate professional indemnity insurance or an erhical code. They are just bad news and likely to be very costly in the long term.

Crabapple

Rather misleading. IPw set exams which are nowhere near as onerous as those a qualified lawyer will have sat, and can be complete in a couple of months vs six years of law training including two years on the job training.

You might get a skilled and experienced and qualified willwriter if you are lucky.

You would be very unlucky to get a lawyer who does not specialise in wills these days - there's still a few old timers who will do your house purchase, your divorce and knock out your will plus wind up your estate but that's not how larger firms work.

STEP is a gold standard and a sign that the person has a lot of technical k owledge in trusts and taxation and has taken a further qualification in their specialism.

Can't quite think the post above is meant to read as though an ipw willwriter is in any way equivalent to a lawyer let alone a STEP member.

Most solicitors don't charge to store documents, almost all willwriters do.

jackyann

The usual, broad, advice on here is to avoid will writers, as they are neither one thing nor the other.
Some of us think that if your will is very simple, then DiY is fine (I have done that twice in my life). Otherwise, go to a solicitor, the charge will then vary depending on complications.
Suggest writing down your assets (roughly, no detail at this stage), and an outline of what you want to do with them, then get quotes.

I also think it worth remembering that wills can - and should - be changed as your circumstances do. People worry because of horror stories, but these tend to happen if people are unclear or leave their wills unaltered for years.

Yorkshireman99

20vt-rs wrote: »

OK thanks, roughly how much cheaper did you find it? I forgot to mention, the £420/£240 is paid pre-tax, so I'd get tax break on this amount.

You will not get a tax break. It is a taxable payment.

NordicNoir

20vt-rs wrote: »

OK thanks, roughly how much cheaper did you find it? I forgot to mention, the £420/£240 is paid pre-tax, so I'd get tax break on this amount.

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

You will not get a tax break. It is a taxable payment.

I think that what 20vt-rs is describing is a salary sacrifice scheme which will allow the payment to be made from pre-tax pay rather than post-tax, as part of his remuneration package from his employer.