The pitfalls of a homemade Will
Written by Amy Douch | Wills, Trusts, Tax and Probate
The main purpose of a Will is so you can choose who should inherit from your estate.
Dealing with the affairs of a loved one who has died can be an incredibly difficult time and therefore to make this job as easy and as stress free as possible for those left behind, the best thing you can do is to ensure you have a Will in place.
You are of course free to write your Will yourself, and it would be seen as legal as long as certain requirements have been met. To be honest, the moment I fear the most as a Private Client Solicitor is being given a home-made Will of a person who has passed away. In some cases, the Will prepared would be absolutely fine. However, in most cases the Will may have some issues for example:
it may not deal with all of the assets of the person that has died
it may have been signed incorrectly or there are mistakes contained within the document
the language used may be unclear
If any of these issues are found, then this can then lead to the Will being invalid or ineffective.
If the validity of the Will is questioned, this could lead to lengthy and expensive legal disputes. Not only this, but this could also be the cause of fallings out between family members which is something I am sure most people would want to avoid at all costs.
If invalid all together, your estate would be dealt with in accordance with the last Will you had in place. This may lead to people inheriting from your estate that you do not want to. If you have not made a previous Will, the rules of intestacy would apply. These rules outline who is entitled not only to administer your estate but also who can inherit as well. These rules mean that certain people such as partners and stepchildren are not recognised under these rules whatsoever and would not receive anything at all.
Whenever I sit down with a client to take instructions for their Will, my job is to ask all sorts of questions so that I can get a clear picture of not only their assets, but also about their family. It is surprising what information is revealed by simply having a conversation.
For example, a client could have a child who has disabilities and is in receipt of means tested benefits. By telling me this I can then advise on the potential use of a trust in their Will so that their entitlement is not affected in the event they would inherit from their parents’ estate. If the Will had been prepared by the client themselves, they may not have thought about this and simply left everything to their child outright which may not have been in the best interests of their child.
I have lost count of the number of times a client has said to me “I hadn’t thought of that”!
The fee you pay for your Will is not only for the production of the Will itself but also for the bespoke advice you receive based on your individual circumstances.
The advice we provide you with may also be beneficial from a tax point of a view.
When a person is looking to prepare their own Will, it is unlikely that their tax position is at the forefront of their mind. Tax may not be a concern for some but for others it might be important to try and mitigate this as far as possible. This point is especially important when dealing with more complex estates that are of a higher value and include business assets. My job is to ensure that the Will is drafted in a way to try and maximise all tax reliefs where possible.
The cost of a Will in comparison to the size of your estate is small and careful consideration should be given before attempting to draft your own Will. I have seen first-hand instances where the person may have saved a few hundred pounds in the preparation of their Will. However, in orer to rectify the mistakes they made when writing it themselves, the costs have been thousands, effectively reducing the inheritance their beneficiaries are due to receive.
I would say the cost of a Will professionally drafted is a small price to pay for your peace of mind.
Speak with our Wills team
Here at Nash & Co Solicitors, our Wills, Trusts, Tax and Probate team are friendly and experienced lawyers who want to help you make sure that you have all the correct documents in place, and that your documents achieve your wishes.
Whether it is Lasting Powers of Attorney, Wills, Trusts or Tax Planning, please contact us for a chat and to make an appointment. You can get hold of the team by calling 01752 827067 or by emailing teamprivateclient@nash.co.uk
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