Cheap and Free Wills

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 making a will 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 and 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.

Not making a will can cause months or years of grief for your loved ones. Site user Hollie Bird tweeted us:

Two years on I'm dealing with the fall out from Mum not having a will! Please get a will!

Hollie Bird

There are many specific reasons for writing 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 don't expect anything to go to your partner if you don't make a will.

• 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. 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 businesses

  If you're a sole director, it's possible that if you die without executors, nobody can authorise payments (including to staff), so your business could collapse.

What does a will do?

Writing a will has four main functions:

1. 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 make sure you only allow this if you've chosen it for yourself.

   They're also the people who will sort out finances – such as paying off the mortgage and/or other debts out of your estate. Your estate is everything you own at the point you die, including your property, businesses, car, savings, investments, pension fund, life insurance, expensive jewellery, pets and more. (See what happens to debts when you die.)

   One useful tip we've seen recently is to even include internet passwords in a separate document to accompany your 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 executor, or in fact buy any additional services on top of the writing costs. Some may suggest this, or add it to your will as default, so check.

2. 

   To distribute your estate

   This is where you work out who you want your estate to go to. As explained above, that means everything you own at the point you die, including your 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 a house in negative equity, they don't have to take it. If a person disclaims a bequest, it goes in with the residue of the estate. This is dealt with under the residuary clause in the will.

3. To provide for any surviving children aged under 18

   If you die, responsibility for your children automatically goes to anyone else with 'parental responsibility'. Mothers automatically have this, with fathers it's trickier – see table below.
   

   Fathers and parental responsibility

   Situation	Responsibility
   Father married to mother	Has parental responsibility
   Father not married to mother and child born 1 Dec 2003 or later and father named on birth certificate	Has parental responsibility
   Father, any other scenario (eg, child born before 1 Dec 2003, father not named on birth certificate)	Does not automatically have parental responsibility
   Note: The information above applies to England and Wales. See Gov.uk for info on Scotland, Northern Ireland, same-sex relationships and adoption.

   For help for fathers on how to claim parental responsibility, visit the HM Revenue & Customs website.

   People with dependent children should make a will to name a guardian or guardians for their children, and also to allocate funds to ensure they're financially supported while growing up (though another signed, witnessed written document will suffice).

   If you don't make a will, and there is no one else with parental responsibility, the courts will decide what happens to your child in the event of your death.

4. To reduce 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 you can plan ahead to reduce this.

   See the Inheritance Tax guide.

A wills law reform may soon make will-writing easier

The Law Commission, an independent body which takes on projects to reform areas of law, has said current will laws are outdated and need to be overhauled.

An example of this is that wills are only valid if the person writing it understands what they're doing – however, the law uses a Victorian test which takes no account of modern medical understanding, eg, it doesn't reflect what we now know about conditions such as dementia.

It also wants courts to have the power to recognise a will even if it hasn't been written under formal guidelines, allow for electronic wills to be made and lower the age people can make a will to 16 (currently it's 18).

So the commission launched a consultation with the aim of reforming this and other rules. The consultation closed on 10 November 2017 and the Law Commission is currently analysing the responses.

For full details, see the Law Commission Wills Consultation.

Option 1: Free 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. But getting a solicitor to write your will isn't cheap. Even a simple will could easily cost £150 in fees, and you'll have to pay VAT on top of that.

However some solicitors have more expertise at will-writing than others, and just because you get it through a charity is no guarantee of quality. Unfortunately it's not easy to review and assess individual solicitors or will-writers so our primary focus is on cost, not feedback or expertise.

If you've complicated affairs and a will-writing expert is your prime concern, then looking for recommendations and the 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.

Charity-based schemes

Many charities offer solicitor will-writing schemes, and these are usually completely free. In return, while you're not obliged to, they hope you'll make a donation or bequest (a donation in your will) as part of it. Here's a list of the main schemes...

Do remember it is a charity paying for your will, and it may be shelling out £100s, so please seriously consider leaving a bequest.

Individual charity schemes

Most individual charities that operate free will-drafting services do it in the hope of a bequest (a donation in your will). This has the advantage that you needn't pay now, it'll come out of your estate and it's inheritance-tax deductible.

Other charities

If you have a particular charity in mind that you'd like to leave a gift to, check with it whether it runs a scheme of its own. There are a number of charities signed up to the National Free Wills Network that also offer free simple wills – usually for charity members and over-55s.

The charity will usually check that you have donated to them in the past, or are a member, to be eligible for the free will. Each charity's offering is slightly different so ensure you read up.

The following charities are signed up and will offer a free simple will prepared by a solicitor: Amnesty International, Alzheimer's Research UK, British Academy, Children with Cancer, CIWF, Dignity in Dying, Guide Dogs, Independent Age, Liberty 80, Oxfam, Royal Voluntary Service, Shelter, Soil Association and Tenovus Cancer Care.

Option 2: Low-cost professional wills

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

If you use a solicitor-run service, solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and you can also 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.

Local solicitors – find a will-writer near you

You can find a local solicitor on the Law Society's database. Or if you need one that provides specialist legal advice for older and vulnerable people, their families and carers, try Solicitors For The Elderly.

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 or the Institute of Professional Will Writers.

Online DIY wills

Perhaps the best known template is the Lawpack* brand which starts at £11.49. Alternatively, the free legal advice site Compact Law has some free-to-download templates.

There are also templates on several websites where you input your details online and then you're emailed your will, or sent a copy in the post. Sites include: Online Will Writer (costs £29.95, covers England, Wales and Scotland) and Makeawillonline.co.uk (£29.50 for one or £39.50 for two, covers England and Wales), which is a member of the Society of Will Writers.

SimpleWills.net*: Complete an online, multiple-choice questionnaire which forms the basis of your will. Pay for it and then download and sign. A single will cost you £27 (usually priced £38.95) with the code MSE-2017-SW; a mirror will for couples will cost £48 (usually priced £68.95) with the discount code MSE-2017-MW. Your first rewrite is free with 10% discount off subsequent rewrites/updates. It covers England, Wales and Scotland.

QWills: A company based in Cardiff offers a subsidised will-writing service in the hope that you'll leave a legacy to one of the more than eight charities it supports. QWills allow you to make a will online, with a single will costing £60 or a 'mirror will' costing £99.

Your Will Be Done: A UK company offers an online service called 'Will for life' where you make a one-off payment and are able to update your will (for free) as often as needed throughout your lifetime. The will is a template with guidance notes and costs £19.97 for a single will or £29.97 for a 'mirror will'. The company gets your will checked by a legal professional which costs £25 extra. The wills are written and checked by a member of the Society of Will Writers.

What do I need to know to do a DIY will?

There are some basic legal requirements that are needed to make a will and DIYing will mean these rest on your shoulders (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 it must 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.

Q&A: Wills and inheritance

• Share this on Facebook0
• Share this on Twitter
• Share this on Google+
• Share this on WhatsApp
• Print this page
• Email this page