Will writing advice

Roy1234

Apologies if this enquiry is in the wrong section, couldn't find a better one.

Having recently married, my wife & I now need new Wills.  They'll be fairly simple 'mutual' Wills, everything left to the other, otherwise as we have no kids to the most deserving sibling we can think of.  No trusts or businesses or foreign property.  Our previous Wills were home made, I'm pretty confident in this (have done Probate for both parents, also a Court of Protection Order myself) but there's always that comfort factor in having a Will professionally drawn up, especially as it affects all you own in the world.

I'm aware solicitors may charge £200+ each, Will writing services less.  Not looking to take out Powers of Attorney at same time as this adds a lot and knowing the Court of Protection of old, I'd consider that a waste of money against filling those forms out ourselves.  There's the issue of needing them witnessed (in Covid times) and also that solicitors now seem to add justifications for leaving nothing to non-dependants, e.g. to sibling 1 instead of sibling 2, although I didn't think any adult non-dependent could challenge a Will.

But I wondered if there was a consensus in what was the best way to have a Will drawn up if using others?  

TBagpuss

I would say it is best to have it done by a proper solicitor - there are much stronger regulatory protections in the event anything goes wrong.

In terms of challenging a will, it is very difficult for an adult non-dependent to successfully challenge a will , however, i think you are perhaps mixing up different ways of challenging.

A dependent adult can challenge under the Inheritance Act if they are stating that you failed to make reasonable provision for them. it would be hard for a non-dependent adult sibling to make a claim of that kind.

However, they could challenge on the basis that the will was made as a result of undue influence or that you lacked the necessary capacity.  
Having notes or a side letter can void a situation where someone claims that you only left your money to Sibling A because they coerced you, and therefore the will should be disregarded and the rules of intestacy applied instead.
equally it's harder then for anyone to suggest that you lacked capacity and had forgotten or become confused about what siblings you had and therefore made the will without being aware of all the people you might reasonably have made provision for.

And of course, even a hopeless and unsuccessful challenge can create a lot of trouble and expense.

Roy1234

TBagpuss - thanks for your response.  I had wondered why solicitors used by friends to write Wills had started to add statements about why certain adult relatives were not getting anything.  This did not seem to happen in the era of Wills drawn up decades ago.  I guess they're just closing loopholes which, as you rightly say, could eat up estate value and cause great distress although lacking in merit. 

We may also live in more selfish times where the expectation to somehow benefit from a distant relative's death has grown.  I used to know a solicitor socially who would welcome relatives arriving at her office in connection with her carrying out Probate, who had new car brochures in their hands.

I will look at some local firms unless you have any national recommendations.

Keep_pedalling

Get a solicitor to do the wills, but both of you should also make lasting powers of attorneys as well and you can do those yourselves.

Manxman_in_exile

Roy1234 said:

Apologies if this enquiry is in the wrong section, couldn't find a better one.

Having recently married, my wife & I now need new Wills.  They'll be fairly simple 'mutual' Wills, everything left to the other, otherwise as we have no kids to the most deserving sibling we can think of.  No trusts or businesses or foreign property.  Our previous Wills were home made, ...

The bit I've highlighted may answer your question.  I think you mean "mirror wills".  There are probably no such things as "simple mutual wills".

My wife and I have three law degrees between us.  She's a practising solicitor, and law of succession was one of my optional degree subjects.  We did our own wills.  They only needed to be very simple and they were very simple.  Fortunately, before they needed to be relied on, we realised we had got them wrong.  We decided to pay to get them done properly.

My wife had already acted as executor for both her parents' wills but that didn't help us to get ours right by ourselves.

Pay a solicitor to do them.

Mojisola

Roy1234 said:

I had wondered why solicitors used by friends to write Wills had started to add statements about why certain adult relatives were not getting anything.  This did not seem to happen in the era of Wills drawn up decades ago. 

While doing family research, I've come across wills that are explicit in why certain relatives aren't being left an inheritance - it's quite enlightening at a distance but wouldn't have been nice for that to be shown around at the time.

My parents divided their estates unequally between their children and their solicitor made notes of the reason (which could have been used if things went legal)  and got them to write a letter explaining their very good reason - this was kept with the will but wasn't made public like the will.

Roy1234

While doing family research, I've come across wills that are explicit in why certain relatives aren't being left an inheritance - it's quite enlightening at a distance but wouldn't have been nice for that to be shown around at the time.

That is an issue that's crossed my mind, e.g. 'I'm leaving all to my Sister because my Brothers are plenty rich already'.  Maybe true, but not a pleasant parting sentiment to leave behind.

TBagpuss

Roy1234 said:

While doing family research, I've come across wills that are explicit in why certain relatives aren't being left an inheritance - it's quite enlightening at a distance but wouldn't have been nice for that to be shown around at the time.

That is an issue that's crossed my mind, e.g. 'I'm leaving all to my Sister because my Brothers are plenty rich already'.  Maybe true, but not a pleasant parting sentiment to leave behind.

I think it depends on the reason - if it's framed as "I feel her need is greater than theirs" then I don't think it's unpleasant, although in an ideal world you also talk to the brothers to let them know - I think one issue is that emptions get mixed up in it and so something that effectively says "I'm not leaving her more because I love her more, just that I feel it will make more difference to her than to you" can help avoid (or at least reduce the risk of) hurting people. 

Although I agree that if it is a case of "I am not leaving anything to X because he is a terrible person who was abusive to me and others" or "I'm not leaving anything to my son because he's a heroin addict who will spend it all on drugs" are things better said in private.

I've always rather liked the approach my Garndmother took. She had experienced family disputes due to inheritances and wanted to avoid that, so she talked to her sons and daughters in law in advance about which personal items should go where, and left a list with her will, as she wanted to ensure that they each got things they cared  about

naedanger

TBagpuss said:

Roy1234 said:

While doing family research, I've come across wills that are explicit in why certain relatives aren't being left an inheritance - it's quite enlightening at a distance but wouldn't have been nice for that to be shown around at the time.

That is an issue that's crossed my mind, e.g. 'I'm leaving all to my Sister because my Brothers are plenty rich already'.  Maybe true, but not a pleasant parting sentiment to leave behind.

Although I agree that if it is a case of "I am not leaving anything to X because he is a terrible person who was abusive to me and others" or "I'm not leaving anything to my son because he's a heroin addict who will spend it all on drugs" are things better said in private.

What about this bequest "That before anything else is done fifty cents be paid to my son-in-law to enable him to buy for himself a good stout rope with which to hang himself, and thus rid mankind of one of the most infamous scoundrels that ever roamed this broad land or dwelt outside of a penitentiary."

Or this 'a woman left her grandson $10.00, an amount which “expressed the regard in which I hold my grandson, who deserted his mother . . .  and because he is a slacker, having shirked his duty in World War II.”'

Source:
https://www.trademarkandcopyrightlawblog.com/2014/10/testamentary-libel/

(I would be quite interested to know if, in the UK, an estate could be held liable if the deceased's will was libellous.)

TBagpuss

I don't know, but I suspect not. At least not successfully.  

I believe that you would have to show that the statement was claiming to be a statement of fact (not opinion) and in a will where the purpose is to explain why you are disinheriting them, I think there would be a strong argument that it was deceased personal opinion, although of course this would depend on the facts.   I think you might also make an argument that it was impossible to have a fair hearing on the case as the person who made the statement is not available to provide their evidence for it 

Also, the executors on behalf if the estate can make an offer of amends (presumably an apology on behalf of the estate for the words used) which while not stopping any claim, would, I think, limit anything that could be claimed as it can be seen as repairing any damage caused.