Questions About Wills

[Mandymoo]

1. Approx how much do they cost to make?

2. IS it possible to make a provision as to guardianship for children within a will?

Ours was done through our financial advisor and it was free, but we pay for storage. The guardianship of our children is in there.

Ours was just under £170 for a mirror will and the answer to the second question is yes. hula's Dh specialises in this though and she could better answer your questions.

You can buy a DIY kit at WHSmith - nice and cheap and perfectly legal

You can either include guardianship in your will or just do a separate bit of paper

The cost is variable depending on whether you need any tax planning or not. The cheapest time to do it is during Will Aid week/month (which is usually advertised, or you can ask a local firm).

Yes, you can (and should) make provisions for guardianship of your children in your will.

Probably about £200 for mirror wills, probably more if IHT planning is involved. I believe guardianship is not legally binding, and it can either go in the will iteself, or in a seperate expression of wishes letter. The advantage of this being that if you change your mind/circumstances change, you don't have to redo your whole will just to amend the guardianship. Isn't there a link on MN to a solicitors firm run by a MNr who specialise in estate planning? Or have i dreamed this up?

DH is a wills and probate solicitor - see his link at the top of this thread or his article on wills.

1. Cost is variable - depends ont he type of wills you have done, how detailed they are oand who does them. Please don't use a will writing company - yes they are cheap but in most cases they are pretty rubbish. DH makes more money sorting them out after death than he does from writing a will. A typical single will (about average I think) at his firm costs £80 (plus), mirror wills are £110 (plus Vat) and tax planning wills start from about £350 (plus Vat).

2. Guardianship can be written into wills. However it is always worth remembering that guardianship is not legally binding. It is simply pointing out your wishes.

Would definitely recommend using a solicitor specialising in wills and probate. I believe it is penny wise pound foolish otherwise, particularly in relation to the inheritance tax planning aspect of it.

The nil rate band (amount that is exempt from inheritance tax) is currently 275K pound sterling. The value of your estate that exceeds that amount will attract inheritance tax of 40%. It is easy for the combined value of a couple's estate to exceed 275K if you add up the value of property at today's prices and proceeds of any life insurance. You could potentially save thousands in inheritance tax compared to the 375 pounds I paid for a solicitor to draft a tax planning mirror will.

The Tescos will pack I initially bought to save myself that sum would not have got me very far in hindsight!