Yes you can write your own Will, but it is crucial to understand that a Will must meet specific legal requirements to be valid.

We offer a free consultation meeting which can be a face to face meeting in the comfort of your own home, at one of our offices, by video call or by telephone.

The cost of Wills varies, and it depends on what we need to include in your Will.  We offer a free no obligation consultation meeting and following that we will give a fixed price depending on your requirements.

We can include a Will Trust in your Wills which offers increased protection for your loved ones.

Your spouse will receive a portion of your assets, this is currently set at £322k, anything over would be divided between your spouse and children.

Your children would inherit your entire estate, if no children then it would be your parents, if no parents then it would be your siblings.

This is called dying intestate – rules are set out in law to determine who will inherit and how much they will receive. Unfortunately, these are often not the people you would want your estate to go to. An application would have to be made to appoint a deputy to act as your executor which could delay the application for probate and delay getting matters sorted.

This would be treated the same as being single and no assets would pass to your partner.

An application for a grant of letter of administration may need to be made to the supreme court by your next of kin.

In your Will you can appoint legal guardians for your children, and you can set out wishes to those guardians regarding your children’s upbringing, education etc. Unfortunately, without Guardians appointed a court would decide who would look after your children if you were no longer here.

A mirror Will is two Wills usually created by spouses or partners that name each other as the main beneficiary.

A Will requires two independent witnesses. A witness must be over 18 years old, and they cannot be a family member or anyone who is mentioned in your Will.

Anyone over 18 can be an executor, an executor can also be a beneficiary. We would always recommend that you name at least one reserve executor. You can appoint a professional executor if preferred.

Yes there are two types of LPA, one is a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and the other is a Health and Welfare LPA. You can also arrange a separate LPA to cover your own Company or business.

Yes, married couples should consider setting up LPAs for each other. This is because marriage does not automatically give a spouse the right to make decisions for their partner.

An attorney can act and make decisions on your behalf, this can be withdrawing cash from the bank, paying bills, managing investments, dealing with pensions and benefits, speaking to medical professionals, consent to surgery, life sustaining treatment, choice of care and much more.

A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint someone to make decisions for you if you can’t. You might need an LPA if you lose mental capacity, have an illness, accident or stroke that leaves you unable to make your own decisions.

You should set up a Lasting Power of Attorney as soon as possible while you still have full mental capacity. If you do lose your mental capacity, you would not be able to then set up an LPA. Someone would then need to apply for a Court of Protection  on your behalf which is a lengthy and costly process.

You can choose your spouse, a family member, a friend or professional to be your attorney on an LPA. Often attorneys are your spouse and your adult children.