DIY Wills, anyone done one?

cambsno

cambsno

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Looking at getting one done, does anyone have any experience of DIY wills and any suggestions or recommendations?
 
Suggest you have a look around several solicitors are doing cheap wills.

The problem with DIY wills is you don't know how good they actually are until they are actually used and then it may be too late.

Even though ours is relatively straight forward I still feel happier that if anything happens to me my wife & daughter have something that won't be questioned and they also has a point of contact if she wants to discuss it.
 
I got 1 from WH Smiths, easy to do, very straight forward and self explanatory. Having done ours I did lots for friends and family.
 
cambsno said:
Looking at getting one done, does anyone have any experience of DIY wills and any suggestions or recommendations?
Click to expand...

I, and my brother in France, were recently joint Executors of my late Aunts Will

it was drawn up simply........
money shared between nieces and nephews, small bequests to church etc
BUT it was drawn by a solicitor

this proved INVALUABLE when applying for Probate, dealing with Banks and Utilities.

I recommend you do not try a DIY - too many loopholes......:shake:
 
Google free wills week
A lot of solicitors do this
They provide (if its straight forward that is ) a free will service All you do is promise to leave a small sum (£100 for example) in your will to a charity
Pay when your gone money aint no use then
 
A friends father used a free will kit, so far it's cost them £5,000 in solicitors fees sorting the estate out, not worth the risk IMO
 
....and while you're at it nip into IKEA for a

koffininstructionjpg.jpeg



:naughty:
 
I really thk it depends how simple the estate is to sort, I lost my dad recently and his was simple enough to sort out, house to my mum, and some money to me..nice and easy...but if had been more complex that a solicister would have been the way to go. I thknk it also depends if someones really ill and couldnt get to a soliciters, than a DIY will will could be a step in helping to ease those thats left behind out of some awkward situations after there gone.
 
the problem is you have to be very careful with the wording for a wiil, this is especially true if you have individual items you want to leave to specific people. If it's a case of everything going to your other half, they're probably fine.

A
 
Headless Lois said:
not quite true... in Scotland

"Whatever you say in your Will.....the children still have a claim for legal rights of one third of the moveable estate on the death of the first parent.....
if there are minor children... funds must be set aside ...till 16..."

dont know about England but I'm pointing this example out because the ordinary DIY Will maker may not be aware of such conditions....and this is the DANGER......:nono:

and the Courts can/will uphold claims against the Will - solicitor will then cost you ££££££

Do it right in the first place - :rules:
Click to expand...
 
Do it with a solicitor either by free will week or pay
Then show anyone mentioned in the will the will so any misunderstandings can be ironed out whilst your still on this planet
 
Please dont consider a diy will.

My father passed away a few months ago, and his first intention was to do a diy will to save some money. A DIY will cannot cover all eventualities, whereas a solicitor can word a will to cover as much as possible, more than you could ever hope to achieve by doing it yourself.

When it comes to leaving things for your relatives and friends, dont do it cheaply, think how difficult it will be for them loosing you in the first place, let alone if there are any complications with the will dragging things out. The longer the will takes to sort out, the longer it will take before they can start moving on.

Even with a proper will drawn up by the solicitors, Ive still had complications, a hell of alot of them. Several people trying to lay claim to the property. Coupled with the fact that my father was my only real family, other family I can go for years without seeing or speaking to them, and I imagine I will have even less or no contact with them now that my father is gone, and that im only 20. Luckily I had built a fair rapport with the solicitor and my father was a civil servant in the land registry, both of which have offered no end of help and assistance, but thats luck of the draw. If it wasnt for a properly worded will, with the solid backing from a solicitors firm, I honestly dont know what would of happened, but liklihood is I would of lost everything.

Im pretty sure you wouldnt want your loved ones to be affected for longer than is necessary, or to not receive what you wanted them to have. Do the sensible thing, dont take the option to save yourself a few pennies now, get it done properly, not for your benefit, but for those close to you.
 
Thanks for all the comments, think I will avoid the cheap option of a DIY one after reading through.
 
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