making a will yourself

[answerbanker]

For a straightforward will has anyone used a DIY kit or online site which is recommendable please ? Thankyou

[atalanta]

Blood relatives do not automatically have any claim on an estate, except in cases of intestacy. When a second-cousin twice removed of mine died intestate, my father stepped in, and about ten cousins came out of the woodwork. Each cousin got an equal share eventually. But, if there is a valid will, only those people mentioned as beneficiaries will get anything. Relatives who are left out can only claim if they have been dependants of the dead person. Able-bodied adults, say an estranged brother, cannot dispute a will just because they weren't mentioned, and thought they should have been mentioned.
By the way, the biggest fattest textbook on wills was written by Lord Jarman. And, guess what ? He had his own will contested in court.
Lawyers !!!

[ethandron]

We have written a number ..maybe 10.. of straightforward wills for friends and family. The four which have needed to be executed have gone through probate and been executed with absolutely no problem. We used a template which we obtained online.
If you are of average intelligence and the will you are writing is uncomplicated, and you follow some guidelines which are readily available either online or from the library, then I would save yourself a few bob and do it yourself.
If you're not confident or your will is not straightforward then I would seek legal advice.
Just my opinion for what it's worth.

[LyndaB]

I have an acquaintance whose mum wrote her own will. She left everything to my friend, even though she has a brother. However, a solicitor informed them that because her sibling wasn't even mentioned in the will (even if he wasn't getting anything) the will was invalid.

[ladybirder]

answerbanker, these people do it for £30 for one will or £40 for two. I used them myself.

http://www.beneficentlaw.co.uk/make-a-will.html

Regarding barmaid's question, I suspect Dave's observation might be right.

Also, I believe that unless distant relatives were reliant on the deceased for their upkeep then they are not entitled to claim anything.

And you don't have to be an executor to be a beneficiary as I think someone has claimed.

I am scratching my head at LyndaB's post. Can that really be so?

Come on BM, put us out of our misery.

[LyndaB]

I should have made it clear that it was the friend who had the brother, not her mother - so if the will was declared invalid, then the estate would have been divided equally between them, which is not what her mother wanted as her son has been estranged from the family for many years

[ladybirder]

You explained perfectly the first time Lynda, I got that it was your friend's brother, but thanks. Love to know what bm has to say about that. And we are talking about in England are we?

[ethandron]

You can be an executor and a beneficiary.
You can't be a beneficiary if you are a witness or spouse of a witness.

[LyndaB]

Yes they are in England.

[Marijn]

Can I also ask, if you can put in your will what care you would like when you're old. If someone has Alzheimer's when they're old they don't necessarily know what's good for them, and I would like to give my children official permission to decide about my care, and put me in a home if needed (as I might disagree with them if I get senile), but I know they will know what's best for me.Sorry to ask this on your thread, Answerbanker.

[ubasses]

No your Will does not come into effect until you die. You need to set up a Power of Attorney giveing your children the powers you need

[Marijn]

Thanks. I'm not old yet, but worry that when I am that I won't have the sense to give my children power of attorney. Basically I would like my children to make the decision wheteher or not to put me in a home. (Even if I'm saying I don't want to go in one).

[ubasses]

You need to do the POA while you are completely capable, you can then keep it yourself until it is needed then give them access to it to work in your best interests. Once you have something like dementia it is too late.

[Marijn]

Thank you. I'm 50 now, is it ok to arrange it soon? And how will I remember to give it to them if I become senile? My Mum got Alzheimers and was SO miserable in her bungalow, we knew she would be happy in a home, but she wouldn't go into one. We eventually got her into a home for the last 18 months of her life, and she liked it (as we knew she would). My sister had power of attorney, but I understood that was for her finances. We didn't have the authority to make decisions about putting her in a home.

[dzug2]

You don't wait until you are senile.

They will know about it anyway - they have to sign the forms.

If you are worried about it then include a clause to say it doesn't come into effect until you have become incapable. But giving them the right to make decisions doesn't prevent you making your own, and whilst you are capable your own views would take priority.

[dzug2]

The will mentioned in LyndaB's post was perfectly valid assuming everything else about it was OK - possibly the solicitor (or her friend) oversimplified the explanation

It is open to challenge though - and the challenge is slightly more likely to be upheld if there is no mention of the son in the will than if he is mentioned and excluded or given a token bequest

[Barmaid]

Sorry, I completely forgot. The "will" I drafted is in many ways imperfect, but the biggest issue is that it would not pass any real property such as a house or land. That would go under the intestacy rules.

Can I also correct a very common suggestion that in order to claim under the Inheritance (Provision for family and Dependants) Act 1975, a claimant does NOT have to prove dependency. That is one of the people who can claim. The others are spouse (or civil partner), former spouse or civil partner who has not remarried, child, person treated as a child of the deceased under a marriage/civil partnership to which the deceased was a party and someone who has been co-habiting with the deceased as husband/wife in the two years immediately before the death of the deceased.

I have no idea why the Will that LyndaB mentioned was invalid because as dzug says, that in itself is not enough to invalidate a Will. It was potentially invalid for lack of testamentary capacity - one of the tests for TC is that the testatrix must consider the claims to which she ought to give effect.

[LyndaB]

I've no idea why my friends mums solicitor said it wasn't valid either there must have been other issues with it. The solicitor was a family friend and the subject just came up in conversation. Anyway, she's all legal and above board now, and the estranged son still isn't getting anything!

[sandyRoe]

Would a letter explaining why nieces and nephews, who might have thought they'd be mentioned in a will, were not, be of any use if they tried to contest it?

[Barmaid]

It might help in respect of a challenge to the Will on the grounds of lack of capacity to show that the testatrix had considered her wider family and concluded not to leave them anything but that's the only value it has. A good will draftsman will include a detailed attendance note in the file dealing with these things.

[Marijn]

(Thank you ubasses and dzug for answering my questions)