Has anyone used or is familiar with MyLastWill?

Racxie

Back in August I took out an insurance policy via Howden (https://www.howdenlifeandhealth.co.uk/free-will) and received a voucher to get a free 'Single Will' or two 'Mirror Wills' (£80-£130 value), along with on-line and telephone support via a provider called MyLastWill (https://www.mylastwill.co.uk).

I've tried looking up feedback/reviews but aside from apparent testimonies on their own site,there's literally no feedback on Trustpilot (https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/mylastwill.co.uk) and nothing else comes up on search engines or on MSE.

A couple of things I have noticed though:

• They claim that the wills are checked by their "expert team" who "have years of specialist experience", while their disclamer states "MyLastWill provides legal forms and legal information. We are not a law firm, we cannot provide legal advice and any advice should be obtained from a suitably qualified professional" which to me makes it clear that they don't use solicitors
• There's no mention of them being regulated or being part of a trade body
• They claim to have "over 100 common questions" on their FAQ page which doesn't appear to exist (and there's only 6 questions and answers if you open the "live chat" box)
• The feedback page/section also doesn't appear to exist
• Their pricing section they claim that "many companies charge over £100 to update a Will", while seeming to offer a subscription service for £14/py or £2/pm giving unlimited changes (this sounds like the codicil annual fee mentioned in the guide).

I have no idea how realistic that claimed cost is as the guide doesn't mention average costs, though it would take around 7 years to match that assuming it's accurate. Not that I have any idea how common it is for people to change or update their wills that often (though I guess it can vary wildly based on personal circumstances e.g. having kids in the future).

I don't know whether it's worth reaching out to them and asking questions first, but I honestly wouldn't know what to ask at this stage, apart from maybe whether it's possible to pay for the upgrade later on, and what would happen if I was to remove it at any point.

I don't currently have a will so I know I need one (only a single will), but despite me being able to claim this service for free (before my voucher expires) I'm a bit hesitant to do so with them, especially given some of the bullet points which don't exactly instill a lot of confidence in their service (though I guess it might not hurt to get one for free now just so that I have something in place, and then could always switch to another service/provider in the future?).

So if anyone has any experience with them I'd love to hear from you!

Keep_pedalling

No personal experience of them, but I would never use an unregulated will writer to draft one of the most important documents you will ever make, so better to use a local solicitor. 

twopenny

Sounds distinctly dodgy to me.
There's no mention of legal involvement or privacy as it's passed around.
Personally I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

I've worked in solicitors offices on will writing and probate and had some terrible messes with DIY and such.
You know you can get a free will written by solicitors with one of the charities or for a donation? Some have an age restriction but not all.

Here's the information on numerous ways to get a free will
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/things-to-know-before-taking-advantage-of-free-wills-month-aTNWE5v0WrLw

Racxie

Keep_pedalling said:

No personal experience of them, but I would never use an unregulated will writer to draft one of the most important documents you will ever make, so better to use a local solicitor. 

Solicitors aren't cheap, and this is a money-saving community after all! Though as the guide rightly points out there are downsides and risks for using will-services or even DIY vs a solicitor-written or even checked will, but fortunately at least right now my situation is simple enough that I can consider avoiding paying a lot for a document I may very well end up needing to amend several times throughout my still relatively-young life.

Though saying that I do get the impression that this just isn't it, as much as the thought of getting it for free is nice.

Racxie

twopenny said:

Sounds distinctly dodgy to me.
There's no mention of legal involvement or privacy as it's passed around.
Personally I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

I've worked in solicitors offices on will writing and probate and had some terrible messes with DIY and such.
You know you can get a free will written by solicitors with one of the charities or for a donation? Some have an age restriction but not all.

Here's the information on numerous ways to get a free will
https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/things-to-know-before-taking-advantage-of-free-wills-month-aTNWE5v0WrLw

The privacy is something else that crossed my mind after I made the post, but yes it definitely seems somewhat dodgy to me even if it's just because their site can't even function properly. So I definitely think you're right on that point at least for it being a good reason to avoid them (which is kind of unfortunate as Howden even accidentally gave me 2 codes so I could have given one away, but now I don't think that's a good idea lol).

And thank you; I know about the free wills month as MSE is a big proponent of it whenever it comes around and mentions several options in its guide though I still don't have a clue who I'd leave what to, so "paying" for one even with a charitable donation doesn't seem sensible to me if I'm just going to end up needing to change it several times.

I even just read an article within the last week (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/people-urged-to-leave-1-to-relatives-in-their-will-to-avoid-family-disputes/ar-AA1OqAMd), with the last 2 paragraphs being yet something else to consider when writing a will.

RAS

This forum is riddled with threads by people who have inherited, failed to inherit, or entered into a can of tax worms that could been avoided, or just find themselves paying a lot more tax than necessary. 

Most of the time the deceased saved money by not using a solicitor. Great.

And the child who cared for them in their later years can not inherit anything because of problems in the will. Or the trust set up means their estate is liable for massive unnecessary tax payments or the trust means that the aging parents can't sell to fund their move to a nursing home.

Just don't scrimp on this. And do set up LPAs on-line ensuring  your future care is dealt with by those who love you most.

Racxie

RAS said:

This forum is riddled with threads by people who have inherited, failed to inherit, or entered into a can of tax worms that could been avoided, or just find themselves paying a lot more tax than necessary.
 

I can imagine a lot of people run into problems especially if they have more complex situations as the guide points out

And the child who cared for them in their later years can not inherit anything because of problems in the will. Or the trust set up means their estate is liable for massive unnecessary tax payments or the trust means that the aging parents can't sell to fund their move to a nursing home.

Right now I don't have any of these concerns. No partner, no children, no pets, no property etc. so even a simple DIY will in my case right now would probably be more than sufficient (though it's still always a good idea to get someone to look over the wording), but again this could always change in the future in which case getting more professional support (e.g. leaving property & money to kids) would make more sense.

Just don't scrimp on this. And do set up LPAs on-line ensuring your future care is dealt with by those who love you most.

I don't really have anyone like this either. Possibly someone related to me, but I wouldn't say I have that kind of relationship with any of them, nor would I necessarily want to put that burden on any of them especially without discussing it first, and honestly that would probably start raising some questions.

Keep_pedalling

Racxie said:

RAS said:

This forum is riddled with threads by people who have inherited, failed to inherit, or entered into a can of tax worms that could been avoided, or just find themselves paying a lot more tax than necessary.
 

I can imagine a lot of people run into problems especially if they have more complex situations as the guide points out

And the child who cared for them in their later years can not inherit anything because of problems in the will. Or the trust set up means their estate is liable for massive unnecessary tax payments or the trust means that the aging parents can't sell to fund their move to a nursing home.

Right now I don't have any of these concerns. No partner, no children, no pets, no property etc. so even a simple DIY will in my case right now would probably be more than sufficient (though it's still always a good idea to get someone to look over the wording), but again this could always change in the future in which case getting more professional support (e.g. leaving property & money to kids) would make more sense.

Just don't scrimp on this. And do set up LPAs on-line ensuring your future care is dealt with by those who love you most.

I don't really have anyone like this either. Possibly someone related to me, but I wouldn't say I have that kind of relationship with any of them, nor would I necessarily want to put that burden on any of them especially without discussing it first, and honestly that would probably start raising some questions.

For someone in your shoes a simple DIY would probable suffice. Your main issue is going to be appointing executors.

Racxie

Keep_pedalling said:

For someone in your shoes a simple DIY would probable suffice. Your main issue is going to be appointing executors.

Definitely the impression I get for now, though a will writing service would at least help ensure any wording would be clear enough. Assigning an executor might at least be a bit of an easier conversation to have.

Either way I first really need to figure out who'd get what first before even thinking of writing anything, but hopefully that'll become easier in the future. 

Emmia

Racxie said:

Keep_pedalling said:

For someone in your shoes a simple DIY would probable suffice. Your main issue is going to be appointing executors.

Definitely the impression I get for now, though a will writing service would at least help ensure any wording would be clear enough. Assigning an executor might at least be a bit of an easier conversation to have.

Either way I first really need to figure out who'd get what first before even thinking of writing anything, but hopefully that'll become easier in the future. 

Have you looked at the alternative which is no will, so if you died you'd be under the intestacy rules? I think if it's really simple that would work. You only need a will if what you want would be different from that.

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

I'm not sure how old you are, but I'm on my second will in my mid 40's. I did my first at 31. Both were solicitor drafted - my most recent on which was written in 2021 cost me ~£250. It's pretty straightforward, everything to my husband, if he's not around then it's divided between my nieces and nephews with a couple of smallish bequests to charity and friends.

I think Wills are very important and would never use an unregulated will writer, not even for a simple one (which mine is) or to "check wording".

Getting it wrong can lead to unintended consequences and expense for those you leave - they can't fundamentally ask you what you meant, or to clarify.

Racxie

Emmia said:

Racxie said:

Keep_pedalling said:

For someone in your shoes a simple DIY would probable suffice. Your main issue is going to be appointing executors.

Definitely the impression I get for now, though a will writing service would at least help ensure any wording would be clear enough. Assigning an executor might at least be a bit of an easier conversation to have.

Either way I first really need to figure out who'd get what first before even thinking of writing anything, but hopefully that'll become easier in the future. 

Have you looked at the alternative which is no will, so if you died you'd be under the intestacy rules? I think if it's really simple that would work. You only need a will if what you want would be different from that.

https://www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will

I'm not sure how old you are, but I'm on my second will in my mid 40's. I did my first at 31. Both were solicitor drafted - my most recent on which was written in 2021 cost me ~£250. It's pretty straightforward, everything to my husband, if he's not around then it's divided between my nieces and nephews with a couple of smallish bequests to charity and friends.

I think Wills are very important and would never use an unregulated will writer, not even for a simple one (which mine is) or to "check wording".

Getting it wrong can lead to unintended consequences and expense for those you leave - they can't fundamentally ask you what you meant, or to clarify.

That website sure makes it easy to understand - thanks!

But £250 - ouch! Especially as it sounds like your situation is also very simple, and if anything going by that link it almost seems as if you didn't need a will to clarify the intestacy rules (with the exception of charity & friends). The MSE guide does point out that that some will-writing services do get solicitors to check over them which honestly to me sounds fine, especially if they're regulated.

But again, if things get complicated then 100% it might be worth shelling out to have a solicitor draft it for you; just got to hope you don't need to get it changed that often (e.g. what if you fall out with those friends or those charities go bust? etc.).