Do we need new wills
gletley
Posts: 95 Forumite
In March 2013 we made mirror wills with a solicitor, the firm has now been closed due to conveyancing discrepancies.
We have copies of our wills but have applied to SRA to try and obtain the originals.
As we are on pension credit the cost of making new wills is an expense that we can barely afford and to be honest I'm not sure if we can.
If the solicitors have been closed down and they were our executors, do we need to make new wills, or can we place ourselves into the hands of some very good friends who would act as executors if we were to write out our own wills.
The fact that I found out the original solicitors were taken over three times before being closed down is concerning and we don't want to be put in this position again.
Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
We have copies of our wills but have applied to SRA to try and obtain the originals.
As we are on pension credit the cost of making new wills is an expense that we can barely afford and to be honest I'm not sure if we can.
If the solicitors have been closed down and they were our executors, do we need to make new wills, or can we place ourselves into the hands of some very good friends who would act as executors if we were to write out our own wills.
The fact that I found out the original solicitors were taken over three times before being closed down is concerning and we don't want to be put in this position again.
Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
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Comments
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See a solicitor when it's will week (free wills), have them prepare new wills and have your good friends as executors.
No need to have solicitors as executors unless you have no family / friends whatsoever.Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.0 -
You should not need new wills, the ordinal will will not be destroyed but should be passed to new solicitors along with all the other legal documents they held.
Just wait until you hear back from the SRA.0 -
Keep_pedalling wrote: »You should not need new wills, the ordinal will will not be destroyed but should be passed to new solicitors along with all the other legal documents they held.
Just wait until you hear back from the SRA.
I confirm that: a similar situation with us (both in mid-70's) We were offered a new will by a Building Society when opening a new savings account. The company was working through the BS and its Office address was a football stadium! They quoted over £300. We actually just wanted the same as the original will, with some changes. The company which took over our previous solicitors' actually contacted us. A short conversation gave us an appointment and a price less than a third of the £300. Your will is not lost, it has to be kept through ownership changes by law.I think this job really needs
a much bigger hammer.
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I would use the copy and re-write it based n that, replacing the executors with your friends. Solicitors cost quite a bit of money to do it, friends don't (although you could leave them some cash to ensure they are covered)0
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Three years ago our solicitor who was our executor and where our will and the deeds of our house were held went bankrupt. In these circumstances the Law Society has a responsibility to relocate your affairs with another solicitor, which is what they eventually did although it took over three months before we discovered where everything was, so a worrying time.
Seems its not uncommon for solicitors to go out business, especially since the Legal Aid budget was slashed by the government. We were told by the Law Society that the new solicitors take over all responsibility but our wills now need updating anyway, so we need to search either for a closer solicitor. The new solicitors have a good reputation apparently but we want one closer to home.0 -
I would use the copy and re-write it based n that, replacing the executors with your friends. Solicitors cost quite a bit of money to do it, friends don't (although you could leave them some cash to ensure they are covered)
I missed the bit about the solicitors being the executors, so I agree with this. Only appoint solicitors if you have no one else to appoint or if the beneficiaries are likely to fall out over the administration.0 -
The MSE way is to just type out a new will, word for word, and ask somone to proof read it as you read out the original to double check it. Change the executors only and sign it with witnesses present as you ordinarily would.
Bob's your uncle - done and for free too, other than your time.Thrifty Till 50 Then Spend Till the End
You can please some of the people some of the time, all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time but you can never please all of the people all of the time0 -
Just make sure you know HOW to get it signed and witnessed properly.Signature removed for peace of mind0
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Absolutely. Do you have a link to a good source of information for this, please?0
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