Free and cheap wills How to get low or no cost solicitor drafted wills

While every effort's been made to ensure this article's accuracy, it doesn't constitute legal advice tailored to your individual circumstances. If you act on it, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk. We can't assume responsibility and don't accept liability for any damage or loss which may arise as a result of your reliance upon it.

Let's be brutal, we're all going to die. And if it happens when you're will-less, on top of the grief, it can cause a financial nightmare for the people you care about.

This guide will show you how you can get a will made for free either by a solicitor in return for a small charity donation, or DIY if it's simple.

Do you need a will?

Die will-less and your affairs can be in limbo for years. Yet many either don't want to think about it or are worried about the cost. You must be aware it could leave behind big problems, possibly as severe as being unable to pay the bills as the bank's locked off the money. So...

Whatever your age, if you've assets eg. a house, savings, or a business, and people or others you'd like to look after, consider making a will.

While thinking, talking & planning for death may feel uncomfortable, you need to consider how much worse the situation would be if you died or became incapacitated - through illness, accident, old age or emergency - without sorting it.

There are many specific reasons to write a will including:

• Children: If you have children or step-children under 18, you should choose who will look after them and ensure there are funds to help.

• Unmarried couples: The law doesn't really recognise this, so without a will don't expect anything to go to your partner.

• Divorced: You may want to update your will to include what happens to your assets if a previous partner remarries.

• Pets: Decide what should happen to family pets.

• Specific funeral plans: If you know what you want your funeral to be like, you can detail it so that your family doesn't have to make the decisions.

• Property: ‘Joint tenant' mortgages automatically pass to the other owner but if you've a ‘Tenants in common' mortgage it's important to say what happens to your share of the house. If you own a property overseas, inheritance laws may be different to the UK.

• Change in circumstances: Update your will when you marry, divorce or have kids.

• Small business: It's possible with sole directors, that if you die without executors no one can make decisions to authorise payments (including to staff), so your business could collapse.

What does a will do?

It has three main functions…

• To name your executors

  These are the people who'll look after the financial process when you die. Try to choose a responsible and trusted friend or relative, who can think clearly in a troubled time. Alternatively some name a bank or solicitor, though they often charge monstrous fees (and can add themselves automatically), so ensure you only allow this if you've chosen it for yourself.

  They're also the people who will sort out any finances – such as paying off the mortgage and/or other debts out of the estate (see what happens to debts when you die). One useful tip we've seen recently is to even include internet passwords in a will so that your executor has access to all of your online accounts.

  Do remember though, you're under NO obligation to add the writer of your will as an exectutor, or in fact buy any additional services on top of the writing costs. Some may suggest this, or even apply to your will as default, so check before signing anything.

• 

  To distribute your estate

  This is where you work out who you want your estate to go to. That means everything you own at the point you die, including property, businesses, car, savings, investments, pension fund, life insurance, expensive jewellery, pets and more.

  Be aware though you can't force people to take what you leave them. Whether it's a sofa, or house in negative equity, they don't have to take it.

• To mitigate inheritance tax

  If you die intestate (without a will) there are strict laws about to whom and how your estate is distributed (see intestate rules). This causes two problems – first the money may not go where you want – and secondly it's likely to be inefficient for inheritance tax purposes.

  The law says you pay 40% of any assets worth over £325,000 that you leave, so those with valuable houses or larger estates could pay a fortune. Yet there are many legal ways to plan to reduce this, see the Inheritance Tax guide.

Option 1: Free or cheap professional wills

Wills are legal documents, and as small errors can cause big problems, it's preferable to have someone legally qualified draft it for you. However some solicitors have more expertise at will drafting than others, and just because you get it through a charity is no guarantee of quality.

Unfortunately it's not easy to review and qualify individual solicitors or will writers (though you can ask for their experience) so our primary focus is on cost not feedback or expertise. If that's your prime concern then looking for recommendation and reputation of individual will writers or solicitors is the best bet.

Are you already entitled to one?

A number of organisations and groups provide wills to limited numbers of qualifying individuals, so check if you're entitled to one of these first.

Option 2: Low cost solicitor wills

If the free solicitor writing services above don't fit, there are a few other low cost options. These are usually best where affairs are simple.

As with using any solicitor, they are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and you cn go to the Legal Ombudsman if things do go wrong. Our expertise, of course, is saving money so the following are based on price not quality.

Option 3: DIY wills

If you've very simple circumstances, a ‘template' will, available from stationery shops or computer software packages, which you complete and fill at home, can be a cheap way to do it.

Before going further, you must know if you make any mistakes, you won't benefit from the protection you'd get if a solicitor did it, whether that's professional indemnity insurance, recourse to the Legal Ombudsman, or various codes of practice from The Society of Will Writers, Institute of Professional Will Writers or Fellowship of Professional Willwriters & Probate Practitioners.

Perhaps the best known template is the Lawpack* brand which starts at £9.99. There are also templates on websites such as OnlineWillWriter (costing £24.95, covers England, Wales and Scotland), Makeawillonline (cost £29.50 for one or £39.50 for two, covers England and Wales) or Scotwills (costing £45, covers Scotland) where you input your details online and will be posted a copy of your will.

There are some basic legal requirements that are needed to make a will and DIYing will mean this rests on your shoulders (do remember the potential Inheritance Tax issues too).

For example, you must be over the age of 18 and have the mental capacity to make a will. It also needs to be dated and witnessed correctly and state that it replaces all previous versions (and if there are any, these should be destroyed).

It's common for people to make mistakes, such as names of people or charities being misspelled or information about assets being too vague, so be careful and be as specific as possible.

In anything other than simple cases, as it's a legal document, a solicitor or qualified will writer should check it fully to ensure its accuracy and to avoid the chance of it being invalid or contested when you die, which could cost more in the long run.

Wills and inheritance quick Q&A