Will Writing
Are you guilty of intestacy?
Every day 2,000 people die in this country and most of them leave their families with all the problems of intestacy – this means dying without having a legally valid Will.
Most people assume that all their possessions will automatically pass on to their husband or wife or civil partner or other members of the family. Unfortunately, many families often face immediate financial hardship and sometimes they even have to sell the family home – simply because no Will has been written.
The Rules of Intestacy mean that the State writes a Will for you and your possessions are distributed according to these rules. How many people would want their estate to be divided in a way that gives them no choice in the matter? Would you want your partner or family to face unnecessary extra difficulties at a time of great distress?
Without a Will you miss all the chances of passing on particular gifts to your friends or favourite charities. If you have a young family wouldn’t you like to have a say in who may have to look after them after you are gone?
Your Will – an important tool in business succession planning
If you are in business – say the owner or part-owner of the shares in a private limited company – have you given thought to what happens to those shares after you die?
Assuming you have a Will, have you made proper provision so that your surviving spouse or civil partner (if he or she is not involved in the business) has cash instead of what to them are useless bits of paper, and the shares are made available to the remaining shareholders?
Time to change a Will?
You can easily add simple requests to your Will. If you have recently married or divorced, or are sharing property with a new partner, then it’s essential that you write a new Will.
Everyone’s circumstances change as time goes on and we recommend reviewing your Will at least every five years and more frequently if there is a major change in your situation.
Next Step:
Thousands of people are worried because they have not written a Will. If you are one of them, it’s never been simpler to put your mind at rest.
We appreciate that writing a Will is something very personal and feel that whenever possible taking your instructions should be done on a face-to-face basis. We understand that often people cannot get away from work to see us and so we will arrange to meet you either over Zoom at a time that suits you or we will visit you at home if you live within reasonable driving distance of Bicester.
Please contact us if you wish to make an appointment to give us instructions about your Will or have any questions about our Will writing service.
Schedule of Fees
Our Will writing, LPA fees and probate fees are:
- Single simple will - £180
- Pair of simple mirror wills - £280
- Single will including a trust - £425
- Pair of mirror wills including a trust - £575
- Lasting power of attorney, either type - £325
- Lasting power of attorney, both types - £500
- Both types for a couple - £950
- OPG fee for each LPA - £82
- Probate - not full IHT return - £1,200
- Probate - full IHT return - from £2,000
All Will, LPA and Probate work is carried out through our associated company, Cracroft Wills & Probate Limited. Unlike our practice, this company is not VAT registered and so the above fees are as stated.