{"id":134,"date":"2017-01-13T14:22:45","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T14:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/?p=134"},"modified":"2017-07-31T14:43:26","modified_gmt":"2017-07-31T13:43:26","slug":"there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-bargain-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redstarwealth.co.uk\/blog\/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-bargain-will\/","title":{"rendered":"There is no such thing as a bargain will"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">At a recent networking meeting, a solicitor in the group reminded us all how important it is to be careful when selecting who to ask to write your Will telling us about an experience she was currently assisting with where a client had been charged \u00a319.99 by a will-writing service which included a clause which provided the will-writing service with 4% of the deceased estate!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">As financial adviser, we urge anyone over 18 with any assets \u2013 large or small \u2013 to write a Will; it saves surviving family a lot of complication and in some cases expense as well as ensuring that you leave your Estate to those that you want to benefit.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">It might appear expensive (solicitors in the North West charge in the region of \u00a3180 + VAT for a basic Will) when compared to the cut-prices which are often on offer by will-writing services but some of the potential pitfalls have been noted by STEP, the Society of Trustees and Estate Practitioners, including:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Invalid wills: Unqualified will writers can sometimes produce invalid wills due to basic drafting errors<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Disappearing wills and will-writing companies: There have been high incidences of will-writing companies going out of business and their clients\u2019 wills subsequently disappearing<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Hidden fees: \u2018extras\u2019 such as additional clauses, review charges and storage fees, in some cases causing the price to rise more than tenfold from the advertised price<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Trust errors: Errors have been made in designing trusts such that trusts will not be valid when required; complicated trusts have been used within Wills in situations where they are entirely unnecessary<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Of course, we know that there are many professional and reliable will-writing service available however a few words of caution;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Is the person writing your Will qualified? Do they know the law and the implications of what is being written particularly if you include Trusts, assets held outside of the UK and tax planning including inheritance tax?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">Are they regulated and insured? What recourse does your Estate have if mistakes have been made?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">If they are storing your original Will, is it safe? Could it be damaged by fire or flood? Are the storage facilities insured against theft or loss?<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">In the absence of regulation, the best way for clients to ensure they are dealing with an adequately qualified professional who is an expert in the field of trusts and estates is to adopt the services of a STEP member. One can identify if their adviser is a full STEP member by the use of the designation TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner) after their name. TEPs are the most experienced and senior practitioners in the field of trusts and estates. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #000000; font-family: Calibri;\">It would be our opinion that a qualified solicitor would be best placed to write your Will especially if you have complex affairs and the best way to find one, in our opinion, would be from personal recommendation. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a recent networking meeting, a solicitor in the group reminded us all how important it is to be careful when selecting who to ask to write your Will telling us about an experience she was currently assisting with where a client had been charged \u00a319.99 by a will-writing service which included a clause which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>There is no such thing as a bargain will | Red Star Wealth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cut-price will writing services might not be the bargain they appear to be. 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