Simpler Wills 4 November 2022 at 10:33AM in Deaths, funerals & probate 3 replies 281 views

rickenbacker330

Hopefully this is the right place to post this question. Has anyone had experience of using Simpler Wills https://www.simplerwills.co.uk/ as a will writing service? My elderly parents are intending to use their services so I'm try to find out whether they're any good. They're charging £40 for a mirror will whcih seems cheap so I'm concerned there's a catch.

Thank you

Keep_pedalling

I have no experience with that company, but a lot of will writing companies make money by up selling by adding things like LPAs or unsuitable trusts. 

My recommendation is that they should find a local solicitor to make their wills. Wills are one of the most important documents you will ever make so unless they have a very low value simple estate, cutting corners doing it on the cheap with unregulated will writers is not worth the risk.

If they don't have lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) in place that should also be a priority (especially for finance) but they can do that without solicitors. If you also don’t have wills and LPAs in place then that should be on your urgent to list as well. 

TheDoc01

My father passed away recently and his will had been written by "simplerlaw.co.uk".  Don't know if this is the same company but I've had a bad experience.  My father's estate is quite small and straightforward with only my brother and I as inheritors.  Unfortunately, the lawyer firm placed themselves as joint executors of the will along with myself.  I asked that I be allowed to execute the will on my own (as it was simple) - they charged me £360 for them to relinquish there executor rights.  Presumably they would charge significantly more to continue as executors.  Beware of this trap.  If your estate is straightforward I would recommend writing your own will.

Keep_pedalling

TheDoc01 said:

My father passed away recently and his will had been written by "simplerlaw.co.uk".  Don't know if this is the same company but I've had a bad experience.  My father's estate is quite small and straightforward with only my brother and I as inheritors.  Unfortunately, the lawyer firm placed themselves as joint executors of the will along with myself.  I asked that I be allowed to execute the will on my own (as it was simple) - they charged me £360 for them to relinquish their executor rights.  Presumably they would charge significantly more to continue as executors.  Beware of this trap.  If your estate is straightforward I would recommend writing your own will.

Depends your your definition of straight forward. For a low value cash estate fair enough, anything more you should use a local solicitor to draw up your will,  yet only use them as executors or back-up executors if you have no one else or you can’t trust your children to do it without a major falling out.