Short answer: no.
"Why?" do you say?
There is nothing ever simple about any Will. Even those that come into meet with me and say “Emma, this is going to be very straightforward”… it never is. There are many complexities to a Will and if you have a Will that is too simple prepared for you, you are only leaving yourself and, more importantly, your family, in dangerous territory.
If you are thinking of preparing a Will yourself, let me know what you think after this.
A Will is a legal document and needs to be written correctly, executed correctly, and stored correctly. If the Will is not prepared correctly, the use of language within a Will isn’t all that clear at times and may even be ambiguous and this could lead to the Court being involved to interpret the person’s intentions.
That is not cheap and it is not an easy process.
So, why risk it?
I hear too often people telling me that they can get a meeting with someone, it is cheap, and they will be out within 30 minutes.
How can you take a person’s instructions, explain important points of the Will to consider (e.g. Executors & Trustees, Guardians etc.) and discuss the tax implications within just 30 minutes...
If you can go through all of the information you need to give to a client and instructions you need to receive from a client, and have the Will itself prepared in such a short period of time, RUN! You did not go through everything.
Please contact me directly for Will reviews and other Will-related questions you may have.
0207 183 4595
The information provided in this article is not intended to constitute legal advice and you should take full and comprehensive legal advice on your individual circumstances by a fully qualified Solicitor before you embark on any course of action.