Why You Should Use a Solicitor to Draft Your Will

December 3, 2024

By Nick O’Sullivan

There are significant risks with taking a DIY approach to create a will or when engaging a cheap will-writer.

Given the ease with which we can all access information online, it may be tempting to draft your own will using guides and templates that are available at the click of a button Alternatively, you may be persuaded to complete your will with one of the many online will-writing companies who can often offer cheap wills.

However, there are an abundance of benefits when using a solicitor to draft your will. Our expert will solicitors explore some of the main reasons why you should consider instructing a solicitor to draft your will.

Benefits of using a specialist wills solicitor

Understanding individual circumstances

Before we, as specialist wills solicitors, even begin to draft your will, we will have a discussion with you to establish all the relevant information regarding your circumstances. This will include details of:

• the assets that make up your estate (and any liabilities)
• your family (this is particularly important if, for example, you are not married/in a civil partnership with your partner or have remarried or have step-children)
• who you wish to benefit from your Estate

By gathering the information set out above, we can explore the options available to you in relation to a number of issues that you may not even have thought of (and that a non-solicitor will-writer may not be aware of or consider).

Inheritance Tax planning

Drafting a will should not just be about providing instructions about who is going to inherit your assets. It is an opportunity to consider potential Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability for your Estate. Our professional will writers use our expert knowledge to help you to plan your estate in a way that minimises the amount of inheritance tax that may be payable.

Such advice will not be limited to how your will is drafted. By discovering the key facts about your assets and liabilities and family circumstances, we can work with you to plan how you manage your affairs during your lifetime with a view to minimising IHT.

Young or vulnerable beneficiaries

When discussing your circumstances it may be that there are concerns regarding your loved ones/beneficiaries and their ability to manage their affairs. Such concerns may relate to the fact that your loved one(s):

• Cannot manage their own affairs due to their age or mental capacity
• Are in a relationship with someone that you feel may influence or exercise control over any inheritance if they received it outright
• Are at risk of getting divorced
• Are financially irresponsible and poor with managing money
• Are at risk of becoming bankrupt
• Are in receipt of means tested benefits and would lose these benefits if they inherited a lump sum of money outright
• Are at risk of wasting their inheritance, perhaps because they have an addiction or mental illness

If any of the above circumstances apply, it may well be that we would advise you to include a trust in your will which would enable you to leave assets, to be managed by your executors and trustees, for loved-ones for whom large, outright gifts may not be appropriate.

Appointing guardians and setting an age for children to inherit

One of the most important aspects of a will relates to children. If any are under the age of 18, we would recommend including wishes for guardians to look after them if something was to happen to you.

In addition, we would discuss the age at which your children would receive their inheritance as many people feel that 18 years old (which is the age that they would inherit if nothing else is specified in your will) is too young to receive what could be hundreds of thousands of pounds. For example, you could state that your children would receive their inheritance at 21 or 25 years of age.

Care home fees

If, when discussing your wills, it becomes clear that care home fees would be of concern to you, we would advise on, and draft, a will that would seek to minimise the amount a local authority may be able to take from your estate.

Secure storage

As specialist will solicitors, will would securely store your original will once it has been signed. The original can then be produced when required. The consequences of losing a will are quite serious and can at the very least mean that the cost of obtaining a grant of probate is significantly higher than it would otherwise be and the process much lengthier, and at worst can mean that your chosen beneficiaries lose their inheritance altogether.

Risks of not using specialist solicitors

Potential challenges to your will

If your will is not drafted professionally, it could be subject to challenges relating to:

• failure to follow the formalities required for a valid will
• accusations of lack capacity and/or of knowledge or understanding of the contents of the will
• allegations of undue influence when making the will
• ambiguities or lack of clarity in the will
• claims by individuals who believe they should have been included in the will

The lottery of intestacy

If your will is deemed not to be valid, then it is likely that the rules of intestacy would apply to your estate. This could mean that people you did not want to benefit from your estate will receive your estate upon your death or, possibly, the government.

Significantly, the rules of intestacy do not apply to partners who are not married or in a civil partnership or stepchildren.

Be careful with your choice about drafting your will

While it may seem attractive to choose the DIY or cheap will-writing option, it is worth considering whether this is appropriate. After all, your estate may well be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, so you will want to be sure that your will is drafted accurately and effectively to help secure the future for your family and loved ones.

If you would like some advice regarding the drafting of your will, please contact Nick O’Sullivan on 02920 829 100 or nosullivan@darwingray.com.