Wills

You don't have to use a solicitor near you, but it can make the process easier. If you choose to use a solicitor near you, this makes it possible to meet face to face and build a working relationship.

At Couchman Hanson, we are happy to meet our clients face to face or using phone/video calls. We can use whichever means is more suitable for you to ensure we engage with you fully and gain a complete understanding of your requirements.

A Will is a legal document that details who you would like to deal with your estate when you die and importantly, the people you would like to benefit from your estate and to what extent.

If you do not have a Will when you die, you are said to have died “intestate”. The estate of someone who has died intestate is dealt with under the intestacy rules which set out who can deal with your estate and who will benefit from your estate.

Therefore, if you die without a Will, this could mean that people you wish to benefit from your estate may not benefit. Also, it could mean that people who you do not wish to benefit from your estate will receive a benefit.

For example, if you are not married or not in a civil partnership with your partner, they will not receive anything from your estate under the intestacy rules. This is the position even if you have lived together for many years.

If you use a Solicitor, you will be informed of the cost before you instruct them to prepare a Will for you.

At Couchman Hanson, we usually charge a fixed fee for preparing a Will. This is based on a starting price which is charged for standard Wills. For a majority of our Wills, we only charge the starting price. If someone requires a complex Will, we will let them know the price once we know their requirements and importantly, before they instruct us.

We offer fixed fees for straightforward single simple Wills and our prices start at £350 + VAT
Our single Wills including Trusts start from £550 + VAT.

Simple mirror Wills are available from £550 + VAT and complex mirror Wills from £850 + VAT.

Although you may not have any assets now, you may have assets in the future. Your Will is for when you die and applies to the assets you have at the date of your death.

Therefore, you can make a Will now, even if you do not have any assets now, as you are likely to accumulate assets during your life.

There are companies that offer online Wills.

Wills are important and complicated documents which are governed by law. Therefore, if your objective is to ensure you have a document that adheres to the legal requirements and follows your wishes, we recommend you use a Solicitor who specialises in Wills and Probate to prepare your Will.

You do not need to go back to the Solicitor who made you current Will if you want to update it.

If you go to a different Solicitor, they can request your original Will from your previous Solicitor on your behalf.

The requirements for updating a Will are similar to making a Will from scratch. At Couchman Hanson, we will discuss your Will requirements and compare them to your existing Will. If your existing Will does not follow your requirements and needs updating, we will prepare a new Will or a Codicil to your existing Will.

The term “temporary Will” is usually used to refer to a Will that someone has made quickly in order to have a Will in place. Once they have time to reflect on their requirements, they make a new Will to replace the “temporary Will”.

A person may wish to make a Will quickly for various reasons, i.e. if they are due to go into hospital for surgery or their personal circumstances have changed unexpectedly. An example of personal circumstances changing unexpectedly is, a person separates from their spouse and is not yet divorced from them. They may want to quickly make a Will that excludes their spouse.

Please note, the “temporary Will” is still a valid Will. Therefore, if a person dies having made a “temporary Will” and not made a later Will, the “temporary Will” is followed.

You make a “temporary Will” in the same way as you make a normal Will.

In relation to Wills, this term is often used for a Will that has been written in a way that it covers certain circumstances that may change for the Will-maker in the future.

For example, the Will-maker may have three children and one grandchild when they make their Will. In the Will, they may want to benefit that grandchild and any other grandchildren they may have in the future. In certain circumstances, the Will can be written in a way to ensure that all the grandchildren they have at the time of their death are included as beneficiaries in their Will.

Another example is when the Will-maker has a large expensive house and modest savings at the time they are making their Will. Later in life, they may have a modest house and lots of savings. Again, in certain circumstances, the Will can be written in a way to ensure that their assets are distributed in the shares they wish regardless of how their wealth is spread.

Firstly, check through their papers for a copy Will or any correspondence that relates to a Will. A person may have made a Will without telling their family or friends.

If they died without a Will, they are said to have died “intestate”. The estate of someone who has died intestate is dealt with under the intestacy rules which set out who can deal with their estate and who will benefit from their estate.

We would suggest you contact a Solicitor and explain your relationship to the person who has died without a Will. They should be able to give you an indication of whether you are able to deal with the probate process (deal with their estate) under the intestacy rules and also, if anybody else has standing to deal with the probate process.

It is important to establish whether you are able to deal with the probate process under the intestacy rules, before you take any action in relation to the estate.

Solicitors are regulated and have to adhere to strict rules. They have to be up to date with the law and act in your best interests at all times.

Most importantly, Solicitor firms must have professional indemnity insurance to protect their clients. This also means that law firms provide a high level of professional services and advice.

As Wills do not come into effect until after the Will-maker has died, it is important that it is made correctly and follows the Will-maker’s wishes. Using a Wills and Probate Solicitor to prepare a Will gives the Will-maker peace of mind.

To check whether you are dealing with a regulated Solicitor firm, you can look up the firm on the Law Society website. Alternatively, you can check the firm’s website and headed paper for reference to them being regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

As Solicitors are regulated, we have to let you know what the costs will be, or at least an estimate of our costs, before we start working for you.

At Couchman Hanson, we meet clients to discuss their Will requirements and then we confirm the cost before we do any work. Usually, we prepare Wills for a fixed fee.

The cost is based on a starting price, which is the price we charge for a standard Will and if your Will requirements are complex the price is more. For a majority of our Wills we only charge the starting price. If someone requires a complex Will, we will let them know the price once we know their requirements and importantly, before they instruct us.

If you think someone is following a Will that is not valid, you can seek advice from a Solicitor.

The Solicitor can look into your query and if necessary, the Solicitor can communicate with the Executors (of the queried Will), or their Solicitors, on your behalf with a view to establishing whether, or not, the Will is valid.

Whether, or not, you have to pay inheritance tax will depend on your assets at the date of your death and certain life circumstances before you die.

At Couchman Hanson, when we take instructions for Wills, we will indicate to the Will-maker whether there is likely to be inheritance tax to pay on their death.

• If you have a Will, you do not need Probate

  • Whether, or not, you need Probate will depend on the assets you have when you die. For example, if you own a house in your sole name, Probate will be needed in order to sell or transfer the property.

• I do not have a Will and as I have lived with my partner for more than two years, they will inherit some or all of my assets under the intestacy rules

  • If you die without a Will, you are said to had died “intestate” and the intestacy rules govern who will inherit your estate. Under the intestacy rules, your partner will not inherit any of your assets unless you are married to them or have entered into a civil partnership with them. This is the position regardless of how long you have lived together.

• If I make a Will leaving money to my son, if he dies before me, it will go to his wife

  • When you make a Will, you can specify who will receive you son’s share of your estate if he dies before you. If this situation is not covered in the Will, in the event of a child of yours passing away before you, their share of your estate will go to your child’s children in equal shares unless you have specifically excluded this. The only time your child’s share will go to their spouse, is if you specifically state this in the Will.

  • The position is the same if you died without a Will. The spouse of a child that has died before you will not inherit under the intestacy rules.