Instruction meeting
01In person, by phone or video — we take full instructions on assets, family and wishes.
Wills
A will is the only document that decides who receives what, who administers your estate and who looks after your children. Without one, a statutory formula decides for you.
Typical timescale
2–3 weeks
Format
Single or mirror wills
Includes
Instruction meeting, draft, revisions, execution
Storage
Free storage of the signed original
01Wills
What happens without a will
If you die without a valid will, the intestacy rules apply. They do not recognise unmarried partners at all, they may divide an estate between a spouse and children in proportions you would not have chosen, and they say nothing about who should look after your children. The people you would want to benefit may receive nothing, and the people who must administer the estate are fixed by a statutory order of priority.
02Wills
What we cover in your will
We take instructions on your assets and liabilities, your family circumstances and anyone who might have a claim on the estate. We then advise on executors, guardians for minor children, specific gifts of money or possessions, the residue, and what should happen if a beneficiary dies before you.
Where children are involved we usually recommend a trust so that a young beneficiary does not receive a substantial sum at eighteen. Where there is a second marriage, a life interest trust over the family home can protect children from a first relationship while still providing for a surviving spouse.
- Executors and substitute executors
- Guardians for children under eighteen
- Specific legacies, pecuniary legacies and residue
- Trusts for minors, vulnerable beneficiaries and second families
- Funeral wishes and letter of wishes
03Wills
Signing it correctly
A will must be signed in the presence of two independent witnesses who are present at the same time and who then sign in your presence. A beneficiary or their spouse must not witness — doing so does not invalidate the will, but it does void their gift. We supervise execution or give you precise written instructions, and we store the signed original free of charge.
04Wills
Keeping it current
Marriage revokes a will unless it is expressly made in contemplation of that marriage. Divorce does not revoke a will but treats a former spouse as having died first. Review your will after any marriage, separation, birth, death, house move or significant change in assets.
STEPSHow the matter runs
Every wills file follows the same sequence.
Advice and draft
02We advise on structure and send a draft with plain-English explanatory notes.
Revisions
03Amendments made until you are satisfied; no charge for reasonable revisions.
Execution
04Signed and witnessed correctly, with supervision or written guidance.
Storage
05Original stored free of charge with a copy to you.
Questions we are asked most
You can, and for the simplest estates it may be adequate. Templates go wrong on second families, business assets, foreign property, unequal gifts between children and anything involving a trust — precisely the situations where a dispute is most costly.
Property law, handled properly.
Need help with wills?
Send us the basic details and we will come back with a written quotation, the likely timescale and the name of the solicitor who will handle it.