Making a Will – why is it so important to seek specialist advice?

Making a Will is of upmost importance so that you have peace of mind in what will happen to your assets when you pass away. However, failings occur when online Will-making websites and written templates are used. Some online Will writers are unregulated and unqualified so protection from a professional body is unavailable. Online schemes lack the personal touch required for advice in successfully drafting a Will tailored to each individual family situation.

Seeking advice from a qualified Practitioner often avoids problems that could arise which cause a Will to be invalid or inappropriate for your family circumstances. At Chadwick Lawrence we can provide professional advice in complex matters to avoid uncertainty after death, including tax planning and Trust matters, whilst ensuring that all eventualities are covered, a matter often overlooked on online plans.

Homemade Wills often result in ‘partial Intestacy’. By this we mean that if some gifts are disposed of incorrectly or the Will does not provide for alternative provisions, the gift may be disposed of by the Rules of Intestacy, a statutory checklist where family members inherit in an order of priority. Unmarried couples and step-children will not inherit anything under the estate. A professional will ensure that alternative provisions which operate as a ‘back-up’ are inserted into your Will, so your property does not revert to a family member which may be undesirable.

Drafting your own Will without advice, or using online schemes with limited resources can also fail to achieve clarity. Professionals use wording which is specific and appropriate, avoiding ambiguities.

Perhaps the most important reason to consult a professional in drafting your Will is to ensure that the same is valid and executed correctly. There are strict formalities for a legally valid Will and mistakes in homemade Wills often make the Will unenforceable. Having a Solicitor oversee the signing of a Will not only safeguards the validity, but can also assist in proving that the Will was made without any pressure or undue influence and with the correct capacity should any issues or claims from family members arise post death.

Issues also arise due to the rules surrounding some property ownership as online guides often do not ascertain such information and thus, fail to address the matter correctly. Property can be held as either ‘Joint Tenants’ or ‘Tenants in Common’ and such ownership dictates what happens to the property when you die. At Chadwick Lawrence we can investigate property ownership and advise the best way to deal with the same by Will, whether that be by Will clause or changing the ownership on your behalf if necessary where your circumstances would benefit by doing so.

Therefore, it is vital to seek professional advice from a qualified practitioner to ensure your property is left to those who you wish as some online precedents fail to look at individual family circumstances and cannot tailor their advice to each case, causing failures in your Will when you pass away. At Chadwick Lawrence we will also provide advice as to when to amend your Will in a change of family circumstances in the future, a service which other online precedents fail to cover. This is vital as some changes, such as divorce, affect a Will’s operation. If you would like more information, please contact our specialist Wills team on 0800 015 0340.