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By making a Will, you will take control of your finances and ensure your loved ones are provided for in the future.
If you die without making a Will, your money, property and possessions will be distributed according to law and not necessarily in accordance with your wishes. In particular, and importantly, it is a common misconception that a spouse will inherit an estate in full upon the death of their husband or wife. If you are married with children, and your estate is worth more than £322,000, then this may not be the case, and your children may also be entitled to a share of your estate. This is very worrying and sadly in such circumstances, it has been known for surviving spouses to lose their home as a result of intestacy (intestacy occurs where you die without having made a valid Will).
Why Make a Will?
Making a Will could be one of the most important things you ever do. Doing so enables you to appoint someone to deal with the practicalities of administering your estate, known as your executor; this could be your spouse, another relative, a friend or a professional executor. We will advise you as to whom it may be most appropriate to appoint for this role.
Making a Will also allows you to provide for those people who would not automatically inherit your estate upon your death. If you have a partner, but you are unmarried, then it is important to make sure your partner is financially protected in your Will; a surviving partner inherits nothing under intestacy and could lose their home as a result.
If you have young children, your Will can give guidance on who you would wish to take on the role of guardian. A Will can also provide for vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries, by ensuring an adequate trust is set up for them. Similarly, if you have children from a previous relationship, you may want to include additional provisions within your Will to protect your assets for your children in the future.
We will also discuss the inheritance tax thresholds and give general advice in this regard. We are unable to give specific tax advice.
What’s involved in making a Will?
Your will is an important document, which must be properly drafted to ensure your wishes are carried out.
We can make an appointment for you to see a solicitor at our office or alternatively we are able to visit you at home or in hospital, if required. During the meeting we will discuss your requirements and provide in-depth legal advice as to your options on the appointment of executors and guardians, making of gifts and the distribution of your residuary estate. We will discuss your financial situation and assets, so that we can properly advise you based on your circumstances and consider any trust options that may be relevant to you.
After the meeting, we will prepare a draft Will for your approval before organising for you to sign your Will. It is important that your Will is properly signed in the presence of two appropriate witnesses to be valid, and we will meet you at our office to sign your Will or send your Will out to you for signing if requested.
We can store your Will in safe custody on your behalf completely free of charge.
Charges
Our firm’s charges are as follows:
- For a simple single will, the fee starts from £350 + VAT.
- For simple mirror wills, the fee starts from £500 + VAT.
- For a complex single will, the fee starts from £500 + VAT.
- For complex mirror wills, the fee starts from £650 + VAT.
- For a codicil, the fee starts from £200 + VAT.
- Our home visit fee of £100 + VAT (if applicable).
There are also the following disbursements:
- ID Checking: £6 per person.
- Official Copy Entries: £3 per entry.
- Carpenter & Co’s fees for dealing with ID, Compliance and AML checks, to include retrieval of files, administration and auditing will be £50.00 + VAT.
Please note that should you or any authorised person (i.e. attorney/executor/trustee etc.) request your original Will/Codicil/LPA(s) or any other original documents, such as property title deeds or other deeds, be released from our storage and you or they (or any agent you or they have authorised) are unable to collect the same from our office then our firm charges an administration fee of £100 plus VAT to have the original document(s) posted out which includes the cost of Recorded Delivery.
Please contact our Wills team by email at wills@carpenterssolicitors.co.uk or telephone 020 8669 5145 for further information.
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Wills & Probate
Making a will. Probate (administration of a deceased person’s estate). Lasting Powers of Attorney. Deputyship (making decisions for someone who lacks mental capacity).
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Divorces, including fixed fee uncontested divorce. Prenuptials and Cohabitation agreements. Access to children, custody of children.
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