Can I make a will?

[Moreshabbythanchic]

Bit of background.

Married 8 yrs, I have 4DC and several DGC, I am retired, DH still works. He has one DC who he hasn't seen for years. We own a house (mortgaged) in both names.

I am keen to make a will, obviously to be able to leave something to my family when I die but my DH keeps putting it off, his excuse is that he doesn't know what to leave to anyone!

Can I make a will in my own right or does it have to be a joint will?

TIA

yes you can make a will on your own

Yes, certainly you can make a will without your husband also making one, although in my experience (I run a will writing company), often it is the wife/female partner making the arrangements with the husband tagging along in her wake. I presume that you'd just want to make a standard will (as described below).

In his circumstances, I would have thought he'd just want to leave everything to you in the first instance and then for the estate to be divided between all of his children. The standard back up for that is that if any of his children were to die before him, leaving children of their own, then that deceased child's share passes down to their children.

If either of you are particularly concerned about giving gifts of personal possessions to anyone, or specifying funeral arrangements, these can also be put in the will but equally he could simply write a letter of wishes and keep that with his copy of the will.

It is also generally cheaper for a couple to give instructions at the same time; for example I charge £190 for a pair, or £125 for a single will, so if he does end up deciding to make a will a while after you do yours, it'll be a bit more expensive for him.