Is it possible to make your own will? and would it be legal, what jargon should one use, has it got to be worded in a certain way.

Would it be necessary to have it checked by a solicitor? If so, what is the point of drawing up your own will to save money?

Advice Please ! ! !

not sure about the legal side if you completely do it on your own, but I brought a will from WHSmiths for £5, you write it all out yourself then send it to the solicitors and pay them £70 to write it up properly for you, it is much cheaper than having a solicitor do all of it and it was pretty straight forward and it is all properly legal.

Originally posted by elf
not sure about the legal side if you completely do it on your own, but I brought a will from WHSmiths for £5, you write it all out yourself then send it to the solicitors and pay them £70 to write it up properly for you, it is much cheaper than having a solicitor do all of it and it was pretty straight forward and it is all properly legal.

that's cheaper? you were done.

The only problem with writing a will yourself and not using a solicitor is that the will may be interpreted in a different way to how you meant, you need to be very specific and the wording is really important.

It's preferable to get legal advice in terms of in what order people will benefit eg who gets paid first and who may end up with nothing if there's nothing left.

Also it needs to be signed by a witness otherwise it's not legally binding, and there's rules about who can witness a will - I think if you're a beneficiary ie going to benefit from the will, you can't be a witness. And you need to name an administrator who will deal with the division of your property.

This is all if you want a detailed and complicated will, if you just want to leave everything to one person it's not so difficult.

It is possible to write your own Will but as other posters have said you do need to ensure you have worded it correctly. Instructions could be open to interpretation which you do not want when the Will is being proven. You need to include executors to deal with your estate, trustees to take care of any funds (or assets) which may need to be held under trust (for minors as an example- under 18's, not coal), guardians for under 18's (unmarried couples should make Wills appointing each other as guardians as not many realise that the father will not automatically become legal guardian of children if they are not married), initial beneficiaries, and further beneficiaries should your original beneficiaries pre decease you. You may also wish to include legacies, gifts of personal items and funeral wishes. A lot of couples don't realise that you can 'avoid' care home fees and you could also save on inheritance tax by having professionally drawn up Wills. It is a myth that you have to use a Solicitor. There other options available such as an independent Will writer (like me!).

Sorry forgot to mention, you actually need two witnesses to sign your Will not one as rmc123 had indicated. They must not be beneficiaries under the terms of the Will and preferably not married to beneficiaries. Both witnesses have to be present when signing your will and they must sign the Will in yours and each others presence. Many Wills cannot be proven because they have not been properly executed. Another major mistake people make is not dating their Will.

If in any doubt, PM user willman- that's what he does!

Personally speaking, I had my first one written by my solicitor, and have changed clauses and reworded since then to reflect changes in my life. I think that my original will was about £50 from my solicitor, but that was a number of years ago, and it is a pretty simple document that only runs to 2 pages. Many wills and their provisions are far more substantial.

Yes you can do it yourself. It doesn't have to be written in jargon just very basic, plain English will do so long as it makes clear your wishes.

I wouldn't advise it unless your will would be very straight forward ie no second marriages along the way or step children/half brothers/sisters in the equation.

Hal, it will cost you about £60 ish pound to go to a reputable lawyer, which isn't expensive really when you consider that you wouldn't be leaving any untied ends or errors.

Originally posted by Mo
Yes you can do it yourself. It doesn't have to be written in jargon just very basic, plain English will do so long as it makes clear your wishes.

I wouldn't advise it unless your will would be very straight forward ie no second marriages along the way or step children/half brothers/sisters in the equation.

Hal, it will cost you about £60 ish pound to go to a reputable lawyer, which isn't expensive really when you consider that you wouldn't be leaving any untied ends or errors.

Thanks Mo, nice of you to reply and I will consider what you say, also, thanks to everyone who replied.
Hal.

£5 frompost office - date it & 2 signatures.
£15 from betteware.
£35 plus vat from me - fully qualified probate & estate planner.
could save your loved ones £150 in inheritance tax, could protect your home from care costs. the list goes on.
pm if u want any advice i dont charge .

IMO, it's such a potentially-important document (if you didn't think it was, you presumably wouldn't be thinking of doing one) that it seems mad to risk it being wrong just when it matters by doing it yourself.

A bit of cash to make sure it's all legal etc is so worthwhile. Anyone professional drawing up wills will (presumably) be insured against mistakes - not to say, trained to not make any! - whereas most of us would be fumbling in the dark to do our own.

Get one done, and get it done professionally!

:thumbsup:

Originally posted by elf
not sure about the legal side if you completely do it on your own, but I brought a will from WHSmiths for £5, you write it all out yourself then send it to the solicitors and pay them £70 to write it up properly for you, it is much cheaper than having a solicitor do all of it and it was pretty straight forward and it is all properly legal.

Sorry but that's rubbish - I've just had my second will made out by a fully paid-up solicitor and both times it was £50.00 plus vat (£58.75 for those without a calculator). Don't mess about - get it done properly and save the loved ones any potential anguish after you have gone, and no, I'm not a solicitor.