Andrea writes about something we talk about a lot – the dangers of a homemade Will. She was prompted when she saw the following conversation on Facebook a week or two ago:
Q – Who can help with a Will? I want to make sure my brother and sister don’t get anything ….
A – Do it yourself, love. Just write it down and sign it and get two people to sign
A – Great! Do I then take it to a solicitor?
We see many people trying to do something that in a lot of cases really needs professional advice. And not the kind of advice you get from Fred on Facebook! Here I look at the challenges that doing “DIY” can cause and give you some examples of recent cases we have seen that really do bring the potential problems to light.
Why do I need a Will?
One of the most important documents you may ever make is your Will. and yet an estimated 60% of UK adults don’t have one! If you die without one, you are deemed to be “intestate”. That could leave costs and complications for relatives left behind. That’s because your estate (everything you own) is then distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy. Under these rules, spouses may receive a lot less than they had expected and unmarried partners may get nothing. A Will is the only way to ensure the right people benefit from your estate when you die.
Of the 40% of people who do have a Will, how many are DIY versions? And because of the dangers of a homemade Will, they really can have serious consequences for those you leave behind.
What’s wrong with DIY?
Homemade Wills are often prepared to avoid incurring professional fees, but sadly end up costing the deceased’s estate more than the perceived saving they have made.
In theory, you could scribble your will on a piece of scrap paper. If it is properly signed, it could be legally binding. An off-the-shelf Will or cheap online equivalent may seem very tempting, but does that mean it’s a good idea?
Using the wrong wording could mean that your instructions aren’t followed. DIY wills have caused problems for beneficiaries and executors, where the Will has either been ineffective, prompted a disputed, or has later been declared invalid.
If your Will is invalid, you risk leaving your family with a huge number of problems and financial stress at what is already a very emotional time. There is also a risk that what you leave could be eaten away by legal bills or unnecessary tax.
Disputes can frequently arise if the Will was made when the individual was either elderly or ill and could have lacked mental capacity, which provides an open door to disappointed potential beneficiaries to make a challenge to the Will. Equally, a lack of specificity when it comes to assets, heirlooms, or family mementoes can lead to upset later down the line.
Seeking advice is particularly important if there are any complications, or if any conditions need to be added. This may be the case if, for example, you aren’t married to your partner, or if you and your partner have children from previous relationships, or if you don’t want a particular person to inherit.
Some examples we have seen
We’ve dealt with quite a few! And there are many more in a recent industry survey conducted for Today’s Wills and Probate. Here’s just a couple of stories showing what can go wrong:
George and Janie – care homes, capacity, cut out!
George* and Janie* married in 2012 – a second marriage for them in their late 60s. Both have children from their previous marriages. George’s daughter Sarah* asked us for advice when she was making her own Will with us.
Janie had recently passed away and her daughter had found her Will – a DIY Will, on a Post Office form, appointing George as Executor and leaving everything to him. The problem was that George had lost capacity and moved into care 2 years ago! And he had also made a Will – appointing Janie as Executor and sole beneficiary!
So George’s daughter, Sarah had a real dilemma! Her Dad couldn’t administer his wife’s Will and couldn’t make a new one for himself either. She was now going to have to apply for Probate for her father as his Attorney, something of a challenge as she didn’t know Janie very well. Plus Janie’s estate would all go to George and end up being used to pay for his care! Then when he died, as Janie was no longer around, his estate would go to her children. Sarah would do all the work to help out but would never inherit anything at all.
Anne and Sam – a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous!
Sam* came to us after his Financial Advisor had recommended us to help him and his partner Anne* who had recently made Wills online with no professional input. He explained he had done their Wills very easily with a simple questionnaire that took only 15 minutes to complete and cost them £59 each.
He told me his aim was to make sure Anne was protected but he wanted his share of their jointly owned home to go to his children. Anne wanted the same for her children too. They were quite young and remarriage if one died was a real possibility.
They’d been told by a friend that the way to make sure this happened was to make themselves “Tenants in Common”, so their share didn’t automatically go to each other. They had Googled this and filled in forms to send to the Land Registry. Unfortunately, they hadn’t signed an agreement that made this legal and kept that with their Wills. BUT, most importantly, their new online Wills didn’t do what they wanted either. The property wasn’t mentioned separately at all, meaning it went to each other along with everything else in their Will!
We helped them to write new Wills that included a trust into which their share of the property would fall when they died. The survivor would have the right to live there, but eventually it would be guaranteed to go to their children and not get accidentally lost in any new marriage. They are so glad they eventually took professional advice.
* names have been changed for privacy
These real-life stories clearly show the dangers of a Homemade Will. It can have unexpected, and devastating, consequences. And there are many more of them out there.
You don’t know what you don’t know!
Many people start the appointment by telling me they just need a ‘simple Will’. As I go through the instruction form, they often say ‘we hadn’t even thought of that!’ We are all specialists in our own field, and we are trained to really understand what you want to achieve and then write you a Will that will make it happen.
We don’t want to over-complicate things, but we do ask you to thing about scenarios you may not have considered. We make sure you understand some of the risks of, for example, excluding someone who may have a claim on your estate. And then we help you to include documents that may be useful if ever that happened. Our personals experiences and those of our hundreds of previous clients helps us to prompt you to think about things you may not have known about.
You work hard for what you own. It is false economy to leave where it ends up to chance. So now you know the dangers of a Homemade Will, think about taking some professional advice for one of the most important documents you will ever make.
One of the kindest things you can do for your loved ones is to make a Will. But don’t leave it to chance. Don’t DIY, do it properly. And don’t tap your details into a template, talk to us instead!
Call us today on 01524 571032 for a chat or to make an appointment. Or ask for one of our many FREE information guides by calling us or visiting our website. We are here to help!