Will writing service v. Solicitor

Solicitor every time. I'm sure there are good Will Writing Services out there but they can so easily disappear overnight and a proper solicitor, or the practice, will look after the testator's Will.

Definitely use a solicitor. Simple wills are usually fairly low fixed fee. Will writers are totally unregulated - anyone can call themselves a will writer! Can’t actually believe it’s allowed when a will is such an important document and inheritance disputes are incredibly costly and destructive.

YANBU you need to push for a solicitor they are better at doing wills properly than a will writing service.

A note of caution. A customer of mine used a solicitor and in fairness it was a slightly complicated will. But it really shouldn't have taken 5 years to sort out and there were at least 5 'final' versions put forward with massive errors.

The house 4 doors along has been empty for 5 years because the original solicitor was useless and eventually went bust, the solicitor appointed to take over just put everything in storage so they have had to restart probate.

A simple will is easy to administer and as long as its clearly written then its not always worth the cost of a solicitor.

As a hybrid we used the Co-Op's will writing service. Very good service, very thorough and they are a regulated firm of solicitors.

I don't think it's needed, and I've seen some very poor quality wills written by solicitors, just as decent ones can be written by non-solicitors.

Also, do you mean in writing the will (where it just needs to be clear, and properly executed with two witnesses), or in administering the estate?

Because solicitors often charge disproportionate fees for probate/estate administration, and it isn't a legal job anyway, really, much more an admin one. In which case I agree with your co-executor even more strongly.

My parents used a solicitor. I used an estate planner, a specialist in wills. He says their wills were very unclear and poorly written. I called the solicitor to try to get a copy of mum’s will recently following her death as there was only one copy in her house (needed for submitting probate). They couldn’t find a record of it then said they couldn’t get into a difficult to access filing cabinet! They have failed to register the wills with the national will register. Technically, I don’t need another copy, I can wait for probate but what if I needed access to her accounts to pay for stuff? Probate cost over £500! One bank requires the death certificate, will, my ID. I don’t have a will.

So I think I’d use an estate planner instead of a solicitor.

If the will is simple, equal shares to 3 children, or similar a will writer will be fine. If it involves trusts, lifetime interests in property etc use a solicitor There is no need to have a solicitor as executor, you can employ one, paid by the estate at an agreed fee, to do any legal work you can't do yourself.