Making a Will this week,what do I need?

[conkerpods]

Hi,
I am making my first ever Will at a solicitors on Thursday. Please can someone advise me on what I need to take with me?
I assume ID and proof of address?
I am totally clueless!
Thanks.

Hi Scootica. The solicitor was good and as you say he will write up a draft.
I wonder if I'll have to pay again when I go in to sign it?

Did the solicitor quote a fixed fee for the will or is he doing it on a time spent basis? Either way he should have sent a terms of engagement letter setting out the charging basis.

I am assuming you have told him what you want to happen to your estate and who you want to be executors. Have you also checked that the people you name are happy to be executors etc?

Yes we covered everything,and I have named an executor. It's fairly straightforward (not many assets!) although my partner and I are not married and have 2kids so I had to be specific about all that.
It cost £180

Did they explain about marriage invalidating a will? So if you may get married good idea to put a clause in contemplating that marriage - pain if you have to redo

I've always wondered this: if a married couple make mirror Wills, but then later one of them changes their Will, is the other person's Will still valid?

So John and Jane have mirror Wills. John changes his Will to leave his possessions to another woman. Jane dies - her Will still states everything's left to John - would it be?

Imperial - I'm not a wills expert by any means, but where I work I think they insert a clause into mirror wills effectively stating that they are mirror wills, made in similar terms to one another, but they are not mutual wills, and either person is free to amend their own will without invalidating the other.

So in your scenario, John would still inherit from Jane. I think that's right anyway!

Oh okay - it seems pretty mean that you trust someone enough to write a mirror Will and then they change it without you knowing. It doesn't affect me - I was just wondering.

Yes imperial - if all is left to one spouse it is theirs outright - they could make a new will and leave all to the cats home - or more likely remarry. Some couples make life interest trust wills leaving their share for the surviving spouse while he or she is alive but on the second death the first to dies share goes to the children, not any new spouse etc.

Yes, you are free to change your will as you want if it's a simple will. You could leave all to your Dh but he leaves all to his girlfriend! All about trust I guess. You can challenge a will if you are a left out spouse or partner with a reasonable expectation of being provided for..

I'm so pleased I read this thread. Me and dh need to make wills and I wondered about asset distribution / remarriage / children. Thanks KERALA1

That wasn't what I meant, though, Kerali. Obviously once you die, the benefactor can leave their money to whoever they like.

What concerned me was that if a couple had mirror Wills but then one of them secretly changed their Will in favour of a third party, knowing they'd benefit if their partner died, but not vice versa.

I spoke to DP about getting married and he really doesn't want to. We've both been married before and I can see his point but it makes sense for legal and tax/financial reasons. Oh well!

Yep imperial as I said you are free to do that. My friend also works in this field had a couple come in one day to make their wills "together" the husband came in the next day wanting to make an entirely different will without the wife's knowledge.