Share your thoughts on Wills with Which? Win £300 voucher or free Will! NOW CLOSED

[RebeccaEMumsnet]

Writing a Will is something that many of us put off, as it’s never a nice subject to talk about and the process can seem confusing, but Which? Wills is hoping to change all that with their online Will writing and Power of Attorney service.

They would love to hear your experience of how you got your Will sorted, or, if you haven’t got around to it yet, what’s putting you off? It would be great to hear your stories of how you decided how you would write your Will, and your tips to those who have yet to do it.

Here’s what Alex Neil, at Which? has to say: "It's important to make a will to ensure that your assets, including your home, savings and belongings, are distributed according to your wishes. It can be very difficult for loved ones to do this if you pass away without having made a will.”

Did the birth of your DCs prompt you to write your Will? Do you think that it’s important to have a Will as a parent, and if so, why?

Whatever your experience (or lack of experience!) of Will writing, we’d love to hear your story so that other Mumsnetters can take advice.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw, and one MNer will win either a £300 Love2Shop voucher or a free Which? Will Writing Service (T&Cs below).

Thanks,

MNHQ
Standard Insight T&Cs apply
Which? Wills prize T&Cs

[Yorkstone]

My husband and I have three children together. We have an agreement about who will care for our children if needs be and who will assist with finances. We have not made wills as we currently have no assets to leave!

[sheepflower]

I really need to get a will but it is expensive. Planning to wait until will aid month then get it sorted.

[TheNIghtManagersWife]

I avoided doing mine for years as it seemed a very daunting prospect, and my (abusive) ex did not believe we needed one despite us having multiple properties and three children.

Since leaving him I have had to take the bull by the horns and sort out a will by myself. I have booked an appointment to speak to a solicitor next week over Skype, so no time off work needed to do this. And it only cost me £125 which is far less than the scary £500-600 I always imagined it would be. I'm actually looking forward to finally getting it sorted.

[SouthWestmom]

We have mirror wills. I'm very careful about this as we have a complicated family set up. I am very aware that they need to be fair and not leave distress after we are dead.
I am eternally grateful to my grandad for including me in his will as I now own a car.

[TheNIghtManagersWife]

I'd never heard of Will Aid month before. FYI it's in November this year:
www.willaid.org.uk

[Powaqa]

Getting married again and buying a new house was the push I needed to arrange wills. My DH doesnt have children and I did. I wanted to make sure he and they were looked after if I died first (most likely)

I used Mumblechum - a mumsnetter who has a excellent will service. If I had known it was as easy as it was I would have arranged one many years previously

[FurbysMakeSexNoises]

We wrote our will when we bought our first house as a married couple. I've been considering recently whether I need to update or change t to be specific about guardianship for our children.

[Minimonkeysmum]

We need to do this, but it seems to sit at the bottom of a never ending to do list. We know it needs to be done, but also seems a bit depressing and wonder if we are putting it off in part because of that.

[WarmHugs]

We made wills when we bought a house many years ago, and then revised them when we had DC.

I have had to deal with what happens when relatively young people die without a will because they think it won't happen to them. It's devastating. Not only are you coping with the loss of a loved one, but you have all the extra heartache of not knowing their wishes, and dealing with everything.

I urge everyone I know to write wills, and I've made sure I know the wishes of all my close relatives!

[Eva50]

When my mother died she left a very straightforward will and she was very organised. It was still a nightmare to arrange things. It made dh and I aware of how important it was to have wills to make it as easy as possible for the dc's especially as there are dsc's involved.

[trockodile]

My army husband had a will through work, so I was fairly happy ds would be OK if we died together. As everything else was joint and dh would therefore be in the same position I didn't bother with one for myself.
We have now separated and I know I should probably get organised. As with everything else at the moment though I have no clue deal where to begin :(

[Whyisitsodifficult]

We haven't written our wills yet. Married, three children. We have tried to but not sure how to go about it as its more complicated than a straight forward mirror will! Therefore I keep putting my head in the sand!

[hanliying]

Never thought of having a will until having kids.

[Theimpossiblegirl]

I'm aware it's something I need to sort out, but wouldn't know where to start. It's one of those things on my mental to do list (like updating my driving license).

Are those Write Your Own Will kits any good?

[queenoftheschoolrun]

We didn't get round to sorting our wills until DD was nearly 5. My main concern was who would be her guardian if we were both to die but it was one of those jobs you keep putting off.

I hadn't realised how worried about it I was until it was all sorted out. To those of you who haven't got round to it I'd recommend you do. It doesn't take that long. We used a Mumsnetter who did it over e-mail and phone and talked us through all the options.

[Spirael]

We made a will after the birth of our first child, fortunately with very straightforward circumstances. But it was at our old address; we've moved since then and not updated the details. We've also had another child since.

Getting another will made is one of those things that's always just low enough down the to do list that we never quite get to it.

[jellycake]

I made my first will after buying my house and used a £15 one from W H Smiths. After my son was born my ex dh and I got a solicitor to draw them up but didn't use the storage option. Since splitting I have remade my will and store it with a will company as my son is still under 18 and I feel it's important for everything to be completely secure for him.

[KeepOnPlodding]

We made our wills shortly after DS was born, having said for years that we should get round to it.

It just seemed really important to have something formal around what would happen to DS in the event of our deaths and to know that provision was made financially for him.

[roundandroundthehouses]

We have wills but it's worth reviewing from time to time. Even if the financials haven't changed, the circumstances regarding guardianship of the children may have done. We recently realised that we need to revisit ours, as we're about to enter a three-year period where one dd is over 18 and the other under 18. The health of one of our named guardians has declined over the years, and the circumstances of both of the others have changed dramatically. Both of our dds, when asked who they wanted to look out for them if dh and I were both gone, named a person who isn't in our will, so I need to ask them if they'd agree.

[DillieDoily]

We made a will when we bought our first flat together as we were advised this was prudent to do as we weren't married yet. But now we have DC and are married we really need to update it/replace it. However I keep putting it off as the cost is prohibitive and TBH I'd rather not think about death etc. I realise I really need to make it a priority though.

[icklekid]

Another whone keeps meaning to get wills written with dh.mentioned it when ds was born but never have and now pregnant dc2. Have told dh we must after. It's a bit like life insurance when we moved house on a to do list we never seem to get round!

[Eyre89]

We really need to make a will since having ds2 but the cost is a factor. Also we can't decide who would be best to look after him if we did die. It's such a hard decision, we don't have any assets really to leave to anyone it would just be about ds. It seems so final to have the will made we want to make the right decision.

[babsmam]

I have a very out of date will but have neither the time or money to update it. Hundreds of pounds and time off in the week to go to a solicitor are very difficult.
That said I know the importance of one for the dc. I have had the conversation about their care with the relevant people but nothing in writing.
I think anything legal is very confusing as is finding a reputable person to help with these matters

[babsmam]

Also not only wills there should be more information about old age planning

[Lovewhereilive]

We have had one written just need to get witnesses to sign it. Didn't enjoy doing it at all as I don't want to die!