When it comes to protecting you and your family’s welfare, it is important to plan ahead for how you want your assets to be distributed. It is imperative to make sure that your plans are documented correctly so that you and not the law decides how it is shared between your family.

Most will writers charge a fee for making a Will. These vary greatly and many people often shop around for the cheapest price. Indeed, a Solicitor will often charge a relatively higher price for their advice and assistance in preparing a Will.

But you should remember that you often get what you pay for, and price should not be the only factor you consider when choosing a professional person to assist you with the preparation of a will and estate planning.

We often come across multiple issues in Wills made by the person directly having bought a ‘Make a Will’ pack from a shop or stationers, and from other will writers offering discounted services. These mistakes include:

• Not being aware of the formal requirements needed to make a Will legally valid
• Failing to take account of all the money and property available
• Failing to take account of the possibility that a beneficiary may die before the person making the Will
• Being unaware of the effect of marriage or registered civil partnership, or a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership, has on a Will
• Being unaware of the rules which exist to enable dependants to claim from the estate if they believe they are not adequately provided for. These rules mean that the provisions in the Will could be overturned.

We also regularly come across unscrupulous sales tactics from will writers who will sell additional ‘products’ to their clients, without undertaking any analysis as to whether these ‘products’ are appropriate or indeed even necessary for their customers. We do not sell you a product, we will advise you as to what provisions you should consider making, all of which will be in your best interests having conducted an analysis as to the likely benefits of proceeding set against the costs of our advice and assistance

A solicitor will be able to advise holistically on all issues relating to later life. Some advisors cannot legally do so and are not qualified to do so. Will-writing services are available, but these are not necessarily regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority or indeed anyone at all. If you use such a service provider you ruin the risk of having no one to turn to in order to seek redress if something goes wrong. On the contrary, all solicitors are obliged to hold substantial levels of indemnity insurance to protect you in the unlikely event that something was to wrong.

Our specialist solicitors contain members of STEP, a worldwide professional association for those advising families across generations, members of Solicitors for the Elderly, and Dementia Friends so you can be reassured that we will always act professionally and in your best interests, not in the interests of making a quick profit.

If you would like further information, please contact Stuart Maher by email, stuart.maher@watsonramsbottom.com or fill out our simple ‘request a call back’ and we will be in touch at our earliest convenience.