Using the same text from an old will to create a new one

DinoT

I have a Will drafted by a solicitor 10 years ago, signed and registered with the National Will Register.  Things have changed and I now need to update the beneficiaries, the executors and the percentage split of the assets.  I don't have children so it will go to other family and charities.  I do have a niece with disabilities so there is wording in the existing Will for a trust so that her benefits are not impacted as she is a beneficiary.

Can I just copy the existing text from the original solicitor's Will and create a new Will myself and just change the names, percentages etc and then get it witnessed by neighbours and lodge it with the National Will Register? 

I know I need to add a clause to 'revoke all previous wills'. 

I kind of feel annoyed to have to pay a solicitor each time I want to redo my Will or do a codicil.  Sadly due to my niece, I can't have just a straightforward simple Will as it needs a Trust.... so starts to add up to ££££ over the years (as it's likely that Executors will need to change over the coming years and maybe other things), especially as I don't have direct beneficiaries such as children/grandchildren etc to act as Executors too.  I even looked at the Free Wills Month but the solicitors will only do simple Wills under this scheme and will charge for anything more complicated like a Trust.

DullGreyGuy

Ultimately it depends how much you care. Some think they're dead and so who really cares? Others want to have absolute certainty their Ex won't get a penny. 

Lawyers make mistakes too but much less often than people that try to DIY legal documents. 

Brie

In my opinion (but I am not a lawyer) I would have thought that anything that is drawn up and witnessed properly would suffice.  I don't understand why it costs so much to have a lawyer do anything when it's straight forward.  Even when it's tricky if it's a case of everything the same but now it Biff instead of Bob being the executor that shouldn't make any difference.  

I think here the crucial thing is whether your niece with needs is sorted, nowt else matters.  

You might enquire whether this qualifies under a "free will" for charity thingme.  

buddy9

An alternative strategy might be to store your will with HM Courts and Tribunals Service rather than with the National Will Register - a private company.

Keep_pedalling

Any will with a trust in it is not straight forward and a lot of things have changed in the past 10 years so it would be unwise to do this. Get your will drawn up by a solicitor preferably a STEP qualified one who will be best qualified to advise on trusts.

Marcon

DinoT said:

I have a Will drafted by a solicitor 10 years ago, signed and registered with the National Will Register.  Things have changed and I now need to update the beneficiaries, the executors and the percentage split of the assets.  I don't have children so it will go to other family and charities.  I do have a niece with disabilities so there is wording in the existing Will for a trust so that her benefits are not impacted as she is a beneficiary.

Can I just copy the existing text from the original solicitor's Will and create a new Will myself and just change the names, percentages etc and then get it witnessed by neighbours and lodge it with the National Will Register? 

I know I need to add a clause to 'revoke all previous wills'. 

I kind of feel annoyed to have to pay a solicitor each time I want to redo my Will or do a codicil.  Sadly due to my niece, I can't have just a straightforward simple Will as it needs a Trust.... so starts to add up to ££££ over the years (as it's likely that Executors will need to change over the coming years and maybe other things), especially as I don't have direct beneficiaries such as children/grandchildren etc to act as Executors too.  I even looked at the Free Wills Month but the solicitors will only do simple Wills under this scheme and will charge for anything more complicated like a Trust.

It would be fairly unwise to do what you're suggesting - things are never static in the land of wills and IHT (and might be even less so after next Wednesday).

Not sure why you 'kind of feel annoyed' about paying for expert advice? The alternative could be much more expensive/less satisfactory for those you leave behind, especially your disabled niece. Might you feel a bit better about the fees if you think about it as an investment for her future financial security?

Marcon

Brie said:

In my opinion (but I am not a lawyer) I would have thought that anything that is drawn up and witnessed properly would suffice.  I don't understand why it costs so much to have a lawyer do anything when it's straight forward.  Even when it's tricky if it's a case of everything the same but now it Biff instead of Bob being the executor that shouldn't make any difference.  

Dangerous 'advice'. As you say, you aren't a lawyer...

DullGreyGuy

Brie said:

In my opinion (but I am not a lawyer) I would have thought that anything that is drawn up and witnessed properly would suffice.  I don't understand why it costs so much to have a lawyer do anything when it's straight forward.  Even when it's tricky if it's a case of everything the same but now it Biff instead of Bob being the executor that shouldn't make any difference.  

Because they're a professional and charge a fixed amount per hour based on their skills/experience rather than the complexity of the task. Most professionals are the same... I charge £X/hr irrespective of if you ask me to manage a £10bn business sale or you ask me to take minutes of a team meeting. Clearly one is very poor value but you know my rates before engaging me as a teaboy. 

Big law firms normally have 5-7 levels of lawyer from a paralegal at the bottom to equity partners at the top. Big firms though also have a load of staff in IT, HR etc who aren't fee earners but their costs have to be covered. Each layer has an hourly rate and normally a piece of work is scaled and given to an appropriate level but sometimes clients want someone more senior on their case so have to pay more. 

Small family law firms may have a couple of partners, if they're lucky an associate and a few paralegals. As such you have the choice of the person with 2 years experience or 20 years. On the plus side there isn't typically such a large number of non-fee earners costs to cover so their hourly rates are below the £1,200/hr we pay for a senior partner. It's your choice to engage the partner as you want someone with more experience than to go to another law firm that has some senior associates. 

Savvy_Sue

I might be tempted to do this IF the previous will was a lot more recent than 10 years old, AND I was certain that nothing significant had changed in relation to wills, probates and trusts in that period of time. 

In the actual situation described, I'd definitely want to take 'proper' experienced advice, and use that to future proof the will as much as possible: when we're young it's not a problem to appoint people of our own generation to act as executors, but as we grow older it's better to choose them from a younger generation, or at least have youngsters as named reserves. And a decent solicitor will help you consider things like this - perhaps with a final 'backstop' of professional executors. 

Newly_retired

There is a strong possibility that regulations might have changed since your original will, especially in relation to trusts, thinking in particular about the niece with disabilities.  In this instance it is well worth getting the new will done professionally, not by a cheap Will Writer. Use a STEP solicitor. 

DinoT

DullGreyGuy said:

Ultimately it depends how much you care. Some think they're dead and so who really cares? Others want to have absolute certainty their Ex won't get a penny. 

Lawyers make mistakes too but much less often than people that try to DIY legal documents. 

True indeed although somehow the lawyers that put together my first Will made a ton of mistakes (spelling mistakes in names, gender pronouns etc) in it.  Not sure how I missed all that as I do remember reading it and I'm usually a good proof reader.  Must have been distracted in my life at the time to now see them as very obvious now!