Does this sound dodgy to you?

[CJ2010]

My DM and her partner recently purchased a house together and they both decided to do their Wills.

They have instructed a Will writing firm to draw up their Wills, at a cost of £2,500(!) The company began their work in March and they still do not have their final Wills completed. It's not normal is it?

I went to visit DM last week and she thrust a document at me regarding Power of Attorney which she asked me to sign along with my brother. It appeared to be a form that had been printed off of Direct Gov website by this company. Is it normal to do this for a Will?

My DM's DP instigated this Will writing and his brother recommended the firm to them, something is not right. DM was talking about an Expression of Will, but didn't seem to know what it was when I asked her, I don't either! Her estate has been put 'into trust' as has her DP's.

Apparently this Will writing guy has ensured that they avoid paying probate costs, but can he really?

I just wish she had gone to see a solicitor. Sorry if my post has been a bit if a ramble as I don't really understand the legal terminology but i smell a rat! I think this company sound really dodgy. Wil the Will even be legal? TIA

I don't know much about UK will writing, but it sounds odd to me. For a start why is she signing a POA? Plus £2,500 fee sounds very high indeed for just will writing.

Sounds incredibly dodgy.

My uncle's estate was left in a terrible mess by some firm that charged a similar amount. They need to read up about what is actually happening to them and not pay a penny until everything is clear.

She should definitely have gone to see a Solicitor - they are properly trained and regulated unlike will writers.

£2.5k for a will!!! STOP THEM NOW!

Yes, I thought the Power of Attorney form was odd. I had a read of the form and once it is registered, my DB and I can make decisions on her behalf! She is in her Kate 50's in good health.

When she told me the cost, I told her not to use them but she is heavily influenced by her DP and so ignored me.

What is Expression of Will?

My DP and I did our Wills at a solicitors and it cost about £300 for both!

Someone with more legal knowledge than me will be along soon to answer about the probate costs etc but this seems hugely expensive for a will. I think that you can get solicitors to do them for less than £500.

My dad and his wife had their wills drafted a couple of years ago and I think they did have the Power of attorney form built into that. That bit seems to be correct but no way should it take this long.

What sort of contract did your mother sign with them? Was there an agreed deadline? Can you express your concern to your mum about how long it's taking and see if her DP can press for a tight deadline for this work?

Thinking about it, £2,500 sounds a lot but on a per hour basis over possibly 3 months, it's nothing. Agree that they'd have been better going to a solicitor for a cheaper, quicker service though - i think my dad only did 2 visits to his.

Oh dear, they're been done, they have probably signed an agreement for the company to act as executors as well, you need to check this out.

Is the company based in Doncaster?

Has she said she wants a POA in your favour? A POA allows another party to sign stuff for you etc. It would only really be used if you were unable to sign for yourself for whatever reason. I would speak to a solicitor about it. Is your mother likely to have a complicted estate?

Hi I'm a will writer (and a member of the Institute of Professional Will Writers, regulated by the Office of Fair Trading, CinnyCall ) and there is something very very wrong with what is going on with your mum's will, OP.

I honestly don't see how this firm can possibly justify a fee of £2,500 to write mirror wills no matter how complex the trusts may be (and putting the estate in to trust does not negate probate costs btw).

As a comparison, I'm a qualified lawyer with over 20 years experience and my charge for mirro wills is £150 if they're straightforward, up to a max of £300 if very complex. The fact that the firm still haven't produced the draft for 3 months may actually work in your mum's favour as they will have produced their terms and conditions letter which will have specified the time scale. For example, I provide the first draft within 7 days. 3 months sounds extremely dodgy to me, so if their T&C letter said that the draft would be produced within say 14 days, then they're in breach and they can't charge the full whack.

So far as Power of Attorney is concerned, the will writers should have taken full instructions and made sure that the donors understood exactly what they were doing. Again, my own charge is £175 for a single, £225 for a double, so if this firm is charging significantly more than that then they are probably ripping your mum and her partner off imo.

mirror

btw I think the reference to Expression of Will really means Expression of Wishes. These are separate documents dealing with things like funeral preferences, and the distribution of personal effects.

My DPIL both fell for this one. Didn't even query the fact that a guy came down from
Newcastle to see them in Nottingham and wasted an absolute fortune (in the region of £1700). Quite why when DH and I are partners in a law firm I really don't know but they would not be told

Do they have large estates and have they received complicated tax planing advice? If so the costs may be reasonable

I doubt it, IwantCandy. I also work in a High Street solicitors' practice and there's no way that even on those rates that we would have charged £2,500 for mirror wills, even with discretionary trusts which it sounds like these wills contain.

More like £800 to £1,000.

DH and I were quoted £350 to
A. Put our jointly owned house into tenants is common
B. put each of our 50% share into trust for our grandson
C. Write mirror wills basically ensuring we are housed in our decrepitude but stopping the government taking more than half our house to pay any bills as It will go to DGS who is disabled.

Seems v good value for money for a fair bit of work. Your DMs bill seems excessive.

Does that include epas mumblecguns?

Sorry mumblechum1. (stupid phone)

No, IWant.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (EPAs have been superceded) usually cost about £175 for a single, £225 for a couple, plus registration fees payable to the Office of the Public Guardian (£130 a throw).

Sorry - Expression of Wishes, not Will! When I did my Will, I'm sure I didn't have to do this.

Company based in the South.

No, you don't have to do letters of wishes, in fact I try to avoid doing them as I don't like having lots of random bits of paper filed with the will, but some clients like to do them.

Why is an Expression of Wishes even needed? Surely the main Will states what a person wants?

I sometimes do Letters of Wishes when a client has a massive list of personal possessions. The main reason is that if they put it in their will, and then they lose/sell/have stolen that item, the gift fails altogether. Often also, the type of person who does a list of 20 or 30 items, often just stuff like their teaspoon collection or whatever, is the type who will be forever changing their mind.

So if you do a letter of wishes and you sell your teaspoon collection, you can just rip up the letter and do a fresh one, leaving the person your record collection or whatever instead. Saves having to make a new will every time something like that happens.

I normally suggest to my clients that if there's something they're really really bothered about going to someone else and they're not going to change their mind that it should go in the will, otherwise, let the executors sort out personal possessions.

Same principle for a letter of wishes regarding funeral arrangements.