Will Writing & Estate Planning Solicitors

Preparing a Will

Your Will allows you to dictate what happens to your estate and any children, for whom you have parental control, when you die. It enables you to make provision for those that you wish to benefit and preclude those that you may feel are not entitled to benefit for personal reasons.

One of the most difficult decisions you can make relates to young children. Your Will should make provision for their care by way of appointment of guardians, as well as ensuring that your money, property and other assets are distributed in accordance with your wishes. We have the experience and knowledge to advise you how best to protect your assets and your children, so that you are able to make an informed decision that suits you and those that you leave behind.

Families have become more complicated and diverse and, as a consequence, the act of Will drafting has become more of a minefield than ever. When drafting a Will it is important to consider a vast array of factors, including the potential risks or claims against the estate.

Sometimes, it is necessary to prevent your estate from passing to particular people for tax planning purposes or personal family reasons. We will help you draft a Will that clearly reflects your wishes and advise you of the risks and likely success of any claims against your estate from aggrieved parties.

The task appears, on the face of it, a simple one but the impact of the Will can be anything but simple and straightforward. This is often realised by the people that you leave behind, when it is too late!

We have a skilled and diverse team that give carefully tailored advice to help you decide how to distribute your estate on your death. We take the time to listen to you and understand your circumstances and wishes, so that you feel confident and relieved at the end of the process.

Codicils

If you have a Will in place but would like to make some amendments, you may be able to do this by codicil. However, when preparing a codicil you must consider a number of factors that could put your estate or wishes at risk of contention. Our team can advise whether a codicil is suitable for your circumstances.

Podcast

Our 'Planning for your Future' podcast series discusses, in everyday language, how planning can help you navigate your way through the ups and downs of life and how getting your affairs in place now can assist your loved ones’ future responsibilities.

In this episode, experienced Private Client Solicitor, Lisa Maley, talks in detail about planning and writing your Will, Codicils and their function and any Inheritance Tax liabilities.

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In this episode, Solicitor, Emma Houghton, talks in detail about Wills in relation to divorce and subsequent marriages and how to ringfence estates or assets for children from previous relationships.

Registering your Will

If your Will is lost or never written and executed, your loved ones and beneficiaries are at risk of being exposed to financial loss and unnecessary stress at an already difficult time. Unfortunately, the majority of people would not know where to locate their parents’ Wills and the passage of time, house moves and new relationships are all contributing factors to this.

We will hold your Will safely, and digitally record its existence and location on Certainty, the National Will Register, which we are a member of.  This allows your loved ones to conduct a national search in order to locate any Wills prepared and stored by any firm of solicitors.

Our Private Client team has extensive experience in preparing Wills and in administering estates of all sizes and complexities.