Cost of Wills
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roadweary
Posts: 219 Forumite
Hi,
I appreciate that a professional service is not cheap, however I am quite shocked at the quotation recently received so would like to outline what my wife and I are trying to do and get feedback on the quote.
I have a late teens year old son from a previous relationship who lives with his mother currently. He has profound special needs and will never be independent - most likely moving into assisted living in a few years. I have a house I rent out...still has a long mortgage on it, but it has significant equity and is the financial vehicle intended to provided for my son on my death.
My wife has a mid 20s son from a previous relationship, currently living abroad, not financially stable.
We have been married for some years and jointly own our modest house which has about 15 years of mortgage to run on it.
We are seeking the same solicitor to create wills for both of us, understand and accept that means no secrets from eachother at any time - no problem with that.
We have been advised to have our wills set up individual discretionary trusts on our passing and it makes sense to us.
In my case that complies with my wish not to have any part of my estate pass to my ex to manage on behalf of my son. It is also designed to avoid impact on means tested benefits for him.
In my wife's case, should she pass, it gives her peace of mind about protecting her estate for her son, for example should I re-marry. Another scenario would be if she were much older and in care when I passed and the trust would help with means tested benefits.
We also need to set up LPAs for property & financial and for health & welfare. And a living will document.
We have the names for the trustees ready.
The bill for the advice so far is £550 + vat.
However, I was quite shocked that the quote for the wills etc. at £3000-£3330 broken down for each of us as the following plus vat and disimbursments:
It sounds v expensive....?
Thanks,
R
I appreciate that a professional service is not cheap, however I am quite shocked at the quotation recently received so would like to outline what my wife and I are trying to do and get feedback on the quote.
I have a late teens year old son from a previous relationship who lives with his mother currently. He has profound special needs and will never be independent - most likely moving into assisted living in a few years. I have a house I rent out...still has a long mortgage on it, but it has significant equity and is the financial vehicle intended to provided for my son on my death.
My wife has a mid 20s son from a previous relationship, currently living abroad, not financially stable.
We have been married for some years and jointly own our modest house which has about 15 years of mortgage to run on it.
We are seeking the same solicitor to create wills for both of us, understand and accept that means no secrets from eachother at any time - no problem with that.
We have been advised to have our wills set up individual discretionary trusts on our passing and it makes sense to us.
In my case that complies with my wish not to have any part of my estate pass to my ex to manage on behalf of my son. It is also designed to avoid impact on means tested benefits for him.
In my wife's case, should she pass, it gives her peace of mind about protecting her estate for her son, for example should I re-marry. Another scenario would be if she were much older and in care when I passed and the trust would help with means tested benefits.
We also need to set up LPAs for property & financial and for health & welfare. And a living will document.
We have the names for the trustees ready.
The bill for the advice so far is £550 + vat.
However, I was quite shocked that the quote for the wills etc. at £3000-£3330 broken down for each of us as the following plus vat and disimbursments:
- Will (discretionary trust) with accompanying letter of wishes £400
- LPA for property and financial affairs (including registration of the same) £250
- LPA for health and welfare (including registration of the same) £250
- Living will £150
- Deed of co-ownership (including registration at the Land Registry) £ 50
It sounds v expensive....?
Thanks,
R
0
Comments
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Your wills are not simple ones so I would expect the charges to be on the high side.
Have you not considered doing the LPAs yourself? There are not difficult to do.
I am puzzled why you need living wills on top of H&W LPAs.0 -
Hi,
I appreciate that a professional service is not cheap, however I am quite shocked at the quotation recently received so would like to outline what my wife and I are trying to do and get feedback on the quote.
I have a late teens year old son from a previous relationship who lives with his mother currently. He has profound special needs and will never be independent - most likely moving into assisted living in a few years. I have a house I rent out...still has a long mortgage on it, but it has significant equity and is the financial vehicle intended to provided for my son on my death.
My wife has a mid 20s son from a previous relationship, currently living abroad, not financially stable.
We have been married for some years and jointly own our modest house which has about 15 years of mortgage to run on it.
We are seeking the same solicitor to create wills for both of us, understand and accept that means no secrets from eachother at any time - no problem with that.
We have been advised to have our wills set up individual discretionary trusts on our passing and it makes sense to us.
In my case that complies with my wish not to have any part of my estate pass to my ex to manage on behalf of my son. It is also designed to avoid impact on means tested benefits for him.
In my wife's case, should she pass, it gives her peace of mind about protecting her estate for her son, for example should I re-marry. Another scenario would be if she were much older and in care when I passed and the trust would help with means tested benefits.
We also need to set up LPAs for property & financial and for health & welfare. And a living will document.
We have the names for the trustees ready.
The bill for the advice so far is £550 + vat.
However, I was quite shocked that the quote for the wills etc. at £3000-£3330 broken down for each of us as the following plus vat and disimbursments:- Will (discretionary trust) with accompanying letter of wishes £400
- LPA for property and financial affairs (including registration of the same) £250
- LPA for health and welfare (including registration of the same) £250
- Living will £150
- Deed of co-ownership (including registration at the Land Registry) £ 50
It sounds v expensive....?
Thanks,
R
Sounds pretty reasonable given what you appear to be asking them to do. If these were central London lawyers (they clearly aren't) I'd expect to see a charge out rate of upwards of £500 an hour + VAT.
Useful reading (especially in relation to why you might want a living will as well as POA): https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs72_advance_decisions_advance_statements_and_living_wills_fcs.pdf0 -
Sounds pretty reasonable given what you appear to be asking them to do. If these were central London lawyers (they clearly aren't) I'd expect to see a charge out rate of upwards of £500 an hour + VAT.
Useful reading (especially in relation to why you might want a living will as well as POA): https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/factsheets/fs72_advance_decisions_advance_statements_and_living_wills_fcs.pdf
The link is broken. I have tried posting it as well but it seems MSE forum breaks it when copying it in a post.
Edit - seems like MSE blocks shortened URLs from !!!!!!! as well so
I give up.0 -
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/search/?q=advance+statements+and+living+wills
The above is a search on the Age Concern site which links to several PDFs which may be what you're looking for.Signature removed for peace of mind0 -
Judging by what my solicitor charges, it looks spot on.0
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Perfectly reasonable for what you have asked them to do. But you can DIY the LPoAs, and the living will is redundant (you can include preferences and instructions in the Health and Welfare Power of Attorney to indicate your wishes regarding treatment, although it is generally a bad idea).
Presumably the "deed of co-ownership" is to sever the tenancy so you own the house as tenants in common for the future. That can also be DIYed with the Land Registry (although if you are to own the house in unequal shares, it would be advisable to do it via a solicitor).
That would bring the cost down to £400 each.0 -
Save some money and do the LPA's yourself - otherwise looks reasonable.0
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The wills and LPAs are good prices.
You don't need a living will.
You can change how your property is held is joint tenants / tenants-in-common yourself with the land registry.Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0
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