Creating UK will from overseas

[ElloOllo]

I live abroad and don’t have a will. I’ve contacted a law firm in the UK I once did conveyancy with and they said they only arrange wills with people face-to-face.

Is this common?

Can anyone recommend a way I can write a will from abroad? I’m not planning to go back to the UK for at least a year and am quite keen to sort it out.

Thanks.

If your will is not super complicated then why not order one of those last will and testament kits on Amazon?

It'll depend on where you want your will to represent you. You can only have a UK will for a UK estate - so basically you can't have one will that covers multiple countries due to the different jurisdictions and laws.

I have two, one for my estate / assets in the UK and one for the US. I made the UK one with the co-op will writing service. Highly recommend them, its all done over the phone and for a straightforward will it cost about 120 quid.

The benefit of this is they ask questions / pose scenarios that you wouldn't necessarily consider doing it yourself (I have done a diy one before) plus they'll keep a copy of the will and any other instructions, letters etc at their vault. I did an initial phone meeting with them and it took about an hour all in, they then send the documents for any additions or changes and then produce a final version

It is not true that a UK-written will only covers a UK estate. My late DH's UK- written was required in Australia and was the document used to establish probate for his estate in Au.

When I needed to sort out the UK side, I had to send the Au probate grant to the UK to be re-sealed. It's probably far more straightforward when dealing with Commonwealth countries who often have similar standards of probate.

The first point of departure for any official enquiry is: Is there a will? rather than where was the will written.

You may need a will valid in the country you live in too.... in the USA, only USA wills are valid for example.....

We already had wills, but we were able to update them (new baby and property changes) from overseas. We did it all by email. We used the same solicitor - well, same practice, different lawyer, and it was fine.

Do your parents / in-laws / siblings etc in the UK have a lawyer that they'd recommend? You might have more luck that way, with a personal recommendation.