will making

[happy_face]

my other half hasn't got a will (neither have I for that matter) but he wants to leave everything to me in case of death. Are there laws around wills? If he was to hand write a will himself along the words of 'I hereby leave everything to my.....' and got someone to witness his signature, is this not a valid will?

[Ethel]

The shortest will in the UK was only three words long but was legally valid.

'All to Judith'.

I suggest your husband is a little more thorough than that though.

A will is not always necessary - it depends on your circumstances. If your husbands estate is worth �125000 or less everything automatically goes to you.

If it is worth more and you have no children or other living relatives - it all goes to you.

Anything different to these two scenarios and a will is needed. It should be very straightforward.

If your wishes are similar should you die first - it may be an idea for you both to have your wills drawn up at the same time This should be cheaper as they will be 'mirror wills'.

If your husband is determined to draw up his own will he will need two witness signatures for it to be valid.

[Buenchico]

The short answer to your question is that the form of will you suggest would be perfectly valid as long as your husband ensured that there were two witnesses to his signature. (It would, however, be easier to obtain probate if he also named the executors of his estate).

However, I used to be managing director of a will-writing company. If someone asked me to prepare a very simple will, along the lines you suggest, my first question would be "What happens if both you and your wife die in the same accident?". That's just one example of several things which you really need to consider before attempting to draft a will (whether with or without professional help).

I've previously posted more detail about this subject, here:
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Money_and_Finan ce/Question152656.html

However you go about writing a will (even if you use a solicitor), I strongly recommend reading this book first:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/08520 29713/qid=1147048543/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_ xgl/026-3880441-3552447
(You probably won't need to buy it. Most libraries stock it or can order it for you).

Chris