I feel so relieved now I have made a will

[Myheadmyheart]

I’ve been meaning to do a proper legal will for years. I did a diy one years ago when I was married but It's obviously been invalid since I divorced. I have finally done it with a solicitor and feel a weight lifted!

Have you made a will yet?

Making a will has been on my to do list for about 15 years
I think lack of knowledge about how any of it works is what's stopped me doing it.
Where do you even start?
I am 35, married with 1 DC so most definitely an adult however it seems like such a grown up task!
I know it will feel amazing once I finally get it sorted, I just need that push to get it sorted!

Meant to say cost of solicitor is also what puts me off. Do you mind sharing roughly what sort of price it cost to get it all done?

Room
have a think what you would happen if
a) you die
b) you and your DH die close together

1. who do you want as guardians for your DC
2. what do you want to happen to your assets

• usually to spouse if still alive, but you may want to put some away for DC at 18/21/25 if significant or if you both die

3) any special bequests to other family/friends/charity 4) any special requests for jewellery

Contact 1 or 2 or 3 local solicitors and ask for quote to do 'mirror wills' for you and your DH. Pick one and arrange a meeting / zoom.

Dad died without one in his 30s, we ve written it up we just need two witnesses to sort it when we can see people again so I ll have it sorted at 26 years old.

My partner died without one and it was a nightmare.

My dad died intestate, total nightmare.

Finally got round to updating one this week, dead easy over a video call.

It's not exactly final wishes but will do the job if we're both in a crash or something catastrophic.

I just did mine with my partner, we used the co-op it was £185 for both

I did mine with a local solicitor over the phone. £200 + vat. I could have done it cheaper with my bank it I wanted legal advice on a family matter.

But not it

Marlow Wills advertises on MN and is brilliant and doesn't charge VAT so a very reasonable price.

Just saying to those worried about cost that there are lots of ways you can get free wills written. A lot of charities offer a free will writing service - obviously they hope that you will add a gift to them but there is absolutely no obligation to do so. I did our wills through Bequeathed and it was really easy.

I've lost both parents. Mum died intestate and so everything went to my dad - which was pretty straight forward, they were both still married to each other. My dad died later with a will, and that has caused so many issues. It's not sorted now and he died over 2 years ago.

Having lived through the last 2 years of dealing with the problems with my dad's will, I made sure to make a will with a firm specialising in it, to cover all sorts of eventualities that I was worried about. It's cost £500 ish, for mirrored wills with my husband. That included some other legal work to change the type of ownership of our house so that we could leave it in our wills.

I was concerned about things like divorce, remarrying, future children with different partners and making sure our wills reflected our wishes in those eventualities. I didn't want to die and everything go to my husband, then he remarries, dies and all my money goes to her, and it turns out she's an evil stepmother and doesn't give my kids any money from me and their dad.

Our firm charges £250 for one and £350 for a pair of mirror wills (assuming they're fairly straightforward).

Made one when I first bought a house. I thought if the worst happens at least the pain would be emotional for those bereaved, and not practical as well. An uncle died without one (and was fairly old and in ill health for years)- ironically he was a solicitor!

March is Free wills month. If you google it it will tell you how to apply