Cost of Wills

Cluelessabouttax

My partner and me are making wills. We are having a disagreement over how much it should cost. I have had a quote for £225 + VAT per will. They feel it should cost between £100 and £150 plus VAT. My quote is from a solicitor recommended by my financial advisor theirs is based on what their parent paid for a fairly simple will in the last few years. I basically want a good job done correctly the first time which will prevent any unpleasantness in the event of death and want to get on with this without prevaricating as it is a task we have put off for too long; they want to shop around to save money. 

Our wills will not be mirror wills. 

My partner's will go: me entire except 1 asset to their sibling > entire estate to their sibling > if sibling predeceases me entire estate to me except 1 asset to charity > entire estate to charity

Mine will go: entire estate to partner > entire estate to my sibling > estate divided equally among young relatives to be kept in trust for either a) university education b) they reach the age of 30 > entire estate to charity 

It is likely we will want to update our wills more than once during our lifetime e.g. if we decide to marry, sell the asset, other relatives predecease or reflecting the character and financial fortunes of the young relatives. 

Can anyone advise how much we should expect to pay for the above? Thank you in advance. 

Robin9

Cluelessabouttax said:..........b) they reach the age of 30 > .

30 is unenforceable - should be 18


£225 is quite reasonable.

poppystar

£120 + VAT last year with solicitor I trust. May depend where you are in the country? 

Keep_pedalling

Robin9 said:

Cluelessabouttax said:..........b) they reach the age of 30 > .

30 is unenforceable - should be 18


£225 is quite reasonable.

30 would be enforceable with the use of a discretionary trust but that adds a lot of complexity and taxation issues and a lot more work for the trustees.

Savvy_Sue

Your wills - especially yours - are not 'simple' so using anyone other than a properly qualified solicitor would be a false economy.

BooJewels

I'd concur with others, a solicitor all the way and the price you've been quoted is about what we paid for ours - and ours were a little more simple than you outline.  Two elderly relatives have recently re-written wills after assorted family bereavements and paid less - but I think that's because they were only modest changes to what was already there, so not writing from scratch.  Also check that the firm are experienced in this area - not all solicitors are equal either.

I think this is one of those areas where trying to save money is a false economy.  Where the solicitor earns their keep is by asking lots of 'what if' questions and outlining scenarios where your plans don't cover them.  It's that initial meeting and first draft that cost the money.

Take a piece of paper with you already printed with all the names and addresses of the parties concerned - and check all spelling and you'll need full middle names too.  Don't forget executors and alternatives for those.

RAS

Use a STEP solicitor, not a will writing company. Your desired wills are more complicated and the solicitor can talk you through the what if situations having assessed your situations. A lot of people come here trying to deal with badly written wills, so it's worth the effort and the mney.

Cluelessabouttax

Thanks everyone. We will definitely be using a solicitor. This is not something which should be done on the cheap. 

I think I will get some more quotes to reassure my partner that this the right rate to pay. I don’t think they  have factored in that our wills are not simple unlike their parents or my parents. 

Can anyone give any recommendation for solicitors I could get other quotes from? 

Cluelessabouttax

Keep_pedalling said:

30 would be enforceable with the use of a discretionary trust but that adds a lot of complexity and taxation issues and a lot more work for the trustees.

This is something I will have to look into more. 

BooJewels

Cluelessabouttax said:

Can anyone give any recommendation for solicitors I could get other quotes from? 

Someone local to you, that you can easily visit, it'll take at least 2 visits to start the process, then sign and them witness the final document.  And to be able to get to to collect the Wills if they're unfortunately needed. 

Go with your gut to some degree - how so they sound when you ring and enquire.  My sister's just done hers and when she rang a firm recommended by several work colleagues, the receptionist - when asked if she'd any appointments in 2 weeks time when my sister was taking some leave - responded by actually guffawing and saying "you're optimistic, we've no appointments for months".  Needless to say, she went elsewhere - pretty much the same response, but put rather more politely.  So also be aware that solicitors are snowed under at the moment and you may need to wait.

JustUseSellotape

When the government looked to regulate willwriting, they interestingly concluded that the industry did not need regulation, as the unregulated sector was not much different from the regulated sector, in that both offered good and bad experiences roughly equally. STEP qualified advisers are in both sectors, but only a small percentage of advisers go down this route. It would be much easier if the industry as a whole was regulated on an even playing field, but costs would have to rise. I think personal recommendation is very useful, but does not guarantee good service etc. I met a payroll adviser recently who made an interesting comment that she would never use an accountant for payroll, as not many were good in this area - always use a specialist payroll provider, and she used a willwriter as they specialise in this area. The problem will a lot of willwriting companies though is that they can be more 'salesy' (is that a word?), but there are many very good people in that sector, as there are in the solicitor sector (I work in both). Regarding costs, if you go anywhere in the country, you could pay between £150 and £1,500 for a Will, so area does not matter greatly, which means of course, that there should always be someone well priced if you look. I hope that helps, and make sure you have a 5-10 minute chat before hiring someone, and remember you have 14 days to pull out if you don't feel comfortable after the meeting.