Wills

[tooj]

I recently reqested advicve as I need to make a will for which I was very grateful.
I got the name of a will writing Service and a very nice man came round as was here for two
and a half hours after which I signedfor a Lifetime Service Membership, which he persuades me
woiuld save thousands of pounds that a solicitor would charge to do probate whenM wife and I
both die and need probate which theybwouild help my executors prepare by phone. This service
was very expensive.
I now lie awake at night worrying whether I will have made my daughters life easier when I have
gone. I wonder whether any else had experience of this system or whether I have done the
wrong thing when I thought I was doing right.
Thank you

[Neveracrossword]

Is there a cooling-off period for this 'membership'? In many cases, probate can be reasonably straightforward and wouldn't cost 'thousands of pounds'. The 'very expensive' service sounds as if it might not be something you need or want.

[Buenchico]

I used to run a will-writing business and I was worried when you mentioned the forthcoming home visit before. (The firm I ran traded exclusively through financial advisers, so I never needed to provide a sales pitch to potential customers). My advice is to get out of a contract that you DON'T need as quickly as possible.

As it's an 'off premises' contract (i.e. the salesman came to you, rather than you going to his office), you AUTOMATICALLY have a 14-day cooling off period to cancel the contract. [Part 3, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013]. Use it!

[gingejbee]

Probate can be quite easy to apply for oneself (done online, even easier and quicker) and the fee a few hundred pounds - or even free, if the estate is small. Most people can DIY, no legal-eagle required.
I'd certainly try to cancel.

[Buenchico]

^^^ As Gingejbee states, the probate process is usually fairly straightforward. My father died in mid-October, leaving everything to me. By the end of November, I'd completed the probate process and transferred his cash assets to my bank account. Doing it myself was not only far cheaper than employing a solicitor but far quicker too!

[Peter Pedant]

you have done the wrong thing
follow Bueno chico's advice

[Peter Pedant]

we did our muvvuz ( half a mill)
egged on in our case by a solicitor who pointed at me and said - he is totally able to do this

see above - straightforward

[davebro]

^^^^ wow! He can write proper English!

[Peter Pedant]

yes! my quirky spelling of "mother's" as muvvuz
is my little contribution to the English language.

orthography division: I think I have caught the essex accent and perhaps immortalised it in aspic - hmm marverz

[tooj]

Thanks everyone. I will certainly try to canel as advised by Buenchico.
Whatv is best, phone, e mail or letter?

[davebro]

phone them & follow it up immediately with a letter.