Making a will, what we need to know?

donnajunkie

My dad has a modest amount of savings and wants to ensure i get it without complications when the worst happens. I believe the term is a simple will.
What is this likely to cost in total? Is there a charge for the will and also the solicitors time? When the worst happens and it comes to claiming do they charge and how do you go about that? How long does it usually take to claim it and what do you need? How do we find a reliable good solicitor?
Anything else worth knowing? We really dont have a clue.

MovingForwards

Depending on where your dad lives a simple will should be under £200, for that he gets to pick his own executors to action the will when the time comes, he should also nominate back up executors in case anyone does before him or is unable to act.

He needs to decide who to live his estate to and again have back ups.

Also think about specific items such as jewellery, paintings or anything else very personal to him, does he want the to go to anyone in particular or just have everything lumped within his estate.

Also, his funeral wished can be included, but make sure he tells people what he wants.

Its fixed fees for wills only hourly rate when it's complex.

A local solicitor - phone around and see how they speak to you on the phone. Look at Google reviews etc, ask friends and other family members who they have used.

Do not use a will writing service, do not have the solicitors as executors as it will cost the estate when the time comes and if they don't renounce executorship.

Probate varies, depends on how long it takes for banks etc to send details of the accounts, valuing any stocks / shares, items of value, house etc.

For a simple estate the executor can do it themselves, it's only the oath and probate fee to pay for. Plenty of people have been guided through it via this forum.

donnajunkie

MovingForwards wrote: »

Depending on where your dad lives a simple will should be under £200, for that he gets to pick his own executors to action the will when the time comes, he should also nominate back up executors in case anyone does before him or is unable to act.

He needs to decide who to live his estate to and again have back ups.

Also think about specific items such as jewellery, paintings or anything else very personal to him, does he want the to go to anyone in particular or just have everything lumped within his estate.

Also, his funeral wished can be included, but make sure he tells people what he wants.

Its fixed fees for wills only hourly rate when it's complex.

A local solicitor - phone around and see how they speak to you on the phone. Look at Google reviews etc, ask friends and other family members who they have used.

Do not use a will writing service, do not have the solicitors as executors as it will cost the estate when the time comes and if they don't renounce executorship.

Probate varies, depends on how long it takes for banks etc to send details of the accounts, valuing any stocks / shares, items of value, house etc.

For a simple estate the executor can do it themselves, it's only the oath and probate fee to pay for. Plenty of people have been guided through it via this forum.

Thankyou.
Executor? Who can that be? Can a beneficery(spelling?) do it? How do they do it? Will a funeral director accept that the money is needed to pay their bill? I believe you need a witness? Who can that be? What if you don't have anyone? What would the oath and probate fee be?

Manxman_in_exile

A beneficiary under the will can also be an executor. The executor simply carries out the instructions in the will. As mentioned above, you can probably find threads on this board assisting other posters through the process. No doubt somebody else here can provide a link to a website explaining what an executor does.


You need two witnesses to the testator (the person whose will it is) signing his or her will.


There's nothing to stop a beneficiary (or their spouse) witnessing a will, but it would be a really bad idea, because anything left to them under the will fails, so they'd get nothing.


Unless it's a really simple will (and few actually are) or the estate is so small as not to justify the expense, the will really ought to be drawn up by a solicitor. If there are any problems with a will, they are only discovered when it's too late to correct them.


As somebody else said, you almost certainly don't want to have a firm of solicitors as executors.


Avoid will writing companies - both to draft the will and to be executor.

Keep_pedalling

donnajunkie wrote: »

Thankyou.
Executor? Who can that be? Can a beneficery(spelling?) do it? How do they do it? Will a funeral director accept that the money is needed to pay their bill? I believe you need a witness? Who can that be? What if you don't have anyone? What would the oath and probate fee be?

Yes a beneficiary can be an executor. It is wise to appoint more than one in case something happens s to your first choice.

If you have a solicitor draw up a will they, plus another staff member will act as witnesses. As for funeral costs banks will release money to pay funeral costs before probate is obtained

Robin9

Manxman_in_exile wrote: »

You need two witnesses to the testator (the person whose will it is) signing his or her will.

These will be members of the solicitors staff - they do not need to know your dad or the contents of the will - they are there to witness his signature.

The solicitor will give him a copy of the will and keep the original signed copy.

donnajunkie

All these legal terms like probate i dont understand really, i presume the solicitor will have the sense to tell us what we need to know? Thankyou to everyone for the helpful info.

Robin9

Your solicitor will explain probate - he will also talk through the "what if" scenarios eg you die before him (it happens)

Please confirm your mum has passed away and also you are the only child.

donnajunkie

Robin9 wrote: »

Your solicitor will explain probate - he will also talk through the "what if" scenarios eg you die before him (it happens)

Please confirm your mum has passed away and also you are the only child.

Yes, would i need proof like a death certificate. Dont know how i would prove i am the only child, presuming i need proof of that. I think what i need to know most is what we need prepared beforehand to avoid any increase of cost, please dont leave any detail out on that. Dont want to find we are missing something and having to make a second appointment that adds to the cost.

Robin9

No certs needed - the content of the will is entirely up to him.

My question re only child was to prevent another sibling making a claim on the estate.

Go armed with your dads and your addresses.

There will be two visits - one for the solicitor to talk to your dad and gather details, ask the what ifs questions. He will prepare a draft and send to your dad to check for errors, spelling, names. Your dad will then return to sign the final version, witnessed by the solicitors staff.

donnajunkie

Robin9 wrote: »

No certs needed - the content of the will is entirely up to him.

My question re only child was to prevent another sibling making a claim on the estate.

Go armed with your dads and your addresses.

There will be two visits - one for the solicitor to talk to your dad and gather details, ask the what ifs questions. He will prepare a draft and send to your dad to check for errors, spelling, names. Your dad will then return to sign the final version, witnessed by the solicitors staff.

It should be straight forward as he plans to leave everything to me and he has no other living relatives apart from his sister who is doing well and unlikely to make a claim on it. The purpose of the will is just to ensure everything goes to me as smoothly and quickly as possible. He hasnt thought about what if i werent around though. I guess his sister would be next in line if i werent around.
Out of curiosity would they do a will for me at the same time and what would the combined cost be. This is just so that if or when i make the claim that it is also covered who i leave it to.