Passing on Money - Solicitors

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Solicitors

In any of these instances, go to a solicitor. For a straightforward will, the charge will be around £50 or so. You will pay more for a more complicated will. Will-writing services are often cheaper, but not good in comparison to solicitors, banks, building societies and insurance companies.

Over a third of the wills drawn up by will-writing services are rated as poor, being overly reliant on standard formats and often failing to get the detail right. Some banks, building societies and insurance companies offer will preparation services, but often lacking in depth and so failing to cover all eventualities.

Wills from this source can also work out expensive later on if you have to use the organisation as executor. Be wary of appointing a bank or solicitor to act as executor of your will, which can result in problems which your survivors may find hard to resolve. If you do appoint a bank or solicitor, you are their client and the beneficiaries of your will have no direct contract with the executor. This makes it hard, when you have passed away, for anyone to put pressure on a professional executor who is slow or unduly costly in administering your estate. Instead, consider appointing a couple of the beneficiaries, or other friends or relatives, as executors. In many cases, administering your estate will be a relatively straightforward procedure. If your executors do need professional help, they can always hire a solicitor. In that event, they - not you - will have a contract with the solicitor and can take action if they are not satisfied with the service they receive.

Make sure you keep your will up to date. Review it whenever your circumstances change and, in any case, every couple of years or so. The Mintel survey found that one in six people who have made a will admit that it is probably out of date. This can cause terrible problems, with the 'wrong' people inheriting, and distressing and costly battles between your survivors, especially if you have divorced and remarried.

In England and Wales, a will is usually automatically invalid if you subsequently marry. If you divorce (but not if you merely separate), any bequests to your former husband or wife automatically lapse but are instead subject to the intestacy laws with all the problems that they can entail although the rest of the will still stands.

In Scotland, neither marriage nor divorce invalidates your will, although a new husband or wife can claim 'legal rights' from your estate.

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