It is never too early for you to make a Will. Our lawyers can meet you face to face, or work remotely depending on your needs. Our Will Info Pack and Questionnaire details some of the matters you should consider when making your Will.
We have been accredited by the Law Society with Wills & Inheritance Quality scheme membership. We can help you in considering the Will you wish to leave and have a team of experts who can provide tax planning, wealth management and financial behavioural coaching when necessary.
Costs information
This firm’s standard charges for preparing a Will, having a consultation about the Will and storing the Will in this firm’s fireproof facility are detailed in the chart below. Within the consultation there may be advice about, among other things, land ownership, trusts, the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, capacity, and the roles of executors and trustees. As indicated below, there may be further charges if further work such as severing a joint tenancy, preparing a trust, preparing a letter of wishes, completing a home/hospital visit or requesting a medical report is required.
| Wills | Fee | VAT | Total |
| Basic Charge | |||
| High Wycombe & Marlow: | |||
| For an individual | £325.00 | £55.00 | £390.00 |
| For a couple (mirror Wills) | £400.00 | £80.00 | £480.00 |
| London: | |||
| For an individual | £400.00 | £80.00 | £480.00 |
| For a couple (mirror WIlls) | £500.00 | £100.00 | £600.00 |
| This includes cost of storing Will here in CG’s fireproof facility and a Consultation within which there will be advice about, among other things, the Inheritance (Provisions for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, land ownership, capacity, and the roles of executors and trustees. | |||
| Supplemental extra costs: | |||
| Letter of wishes | £100.00 | £20.00 | £120.00 |
| Severing joint tenancy | £150.00 | £30.00 | £180.00 |
| Investigating and endeavouring to prove capacity | £100.00 | £20.00 | £120.00 |
| Home/hospital appointment (5 mile radius) (per appointment) | £100.00 | £20.00 | £120.00 |
| Re-drafting due to change of instructions | £50.00 | £10.00 | £60.00 |
| Discretionary trust | £400.00 | £80.00 | £480.00 |
| Life Interest Trust | £300.00 | £60.00 | £360.00 |
| Liaising with charity or library about purpose of intended gift | £200.00 | £40.00 | £240.00 |
| Probate Pack (an indexed pack for the executors to be stored along with the will, including details of assets and liabilities. Option of writing to executors to notify them.) | £250.00 | £50.00 | £300.00 |
|
Tax advice |
Charged on a time spent basis |
A Will sets out clearly in writing who will inherit your assets, including any property, valuables and personal belongings, when you die. If you die without making a valid Will then your assets will be distributed under the Intestacy rules and not necessarily as you wish. Here is a flowchart outlining how the Rules of Intestacy work.
There are significant advantages to making a Will:
- You can ensure that your assets will go to your loved ones when you die and not just as the Intestacy rules provide. This is more important than ever in today’s society as more and more unmarried couples are choosing to live together. Under the Intestacy rules even if you live with your partner for years they will not have an automatic entitlement to your estate when you die.
- As part of an overall estate planning exercise, a Will can potentially offer you significant tax savings as well as saving on the cost of winding up your estate.
- You can specify who you would like to act as guardians for your children.
- You can leave directions regarding your funeral arrangements.
Even if you already have a Will, we recommend that you should review your existing Will no more than every two years to ensure that it continues to reflect your intentions as your financial, personal and family circumstances change over time.
Other important factors to note will be:
- Inheritance tax is payable at 40%. We can advise you on the steps to take to mitigate against this.
- A Will can only be created by an individual if they have capacity to do so. Where an individual has not made a Will and no longer has capacity, the situation becomes more complex as an application will have to be made to the Court of Protection for a Statutory Will to be made.
- A Will shall only be considered valid if it is in the correct format and has been properly executed. You should therefore always seek advice on this issue to ensure these requirements are complied with.
- Marriage invalidates any previous Will you have made and you should therefore seek to address this by having a new Will drawn up.
- If you wish to specifically exclude a close relative from your Will, it is advisable to confirm the reason you have done this otherwise it may be that this individual will seek to challenge how your estate is distributed. For further details on how such a challenge may be brought, please see our guide to Inheritance Act Claims.
Please contact us today for a free no obligation discussion by calling either our London, Marlow or High Wycombe offices on the three telephone numbers referred to at the top of this page, or by email: wills@curzongreen.co.uk
