By Rebecca Tribble, solicitor at WSP Solicitors 

Making a will is important, especially if you own a house or have a family. But when it comes to actually making one, it can be difficult to decide how best to go about it.

Rebecca Tribble, solicitor in WSP Solicitors Wills, Trusts and Probate team examines the best way to tackle your will and estate, looking at the dangers of DIY and the importance of using a solicitor for making a will.

Can I write my own will?

The temptation may be to prepare your own will to avoid the costs of making a will with a solicitor, however this can often lead to more costs further down the line.

The costs of putting right a badly drafted will can prove very expensive. It can also be very stressful and time consuming for your loved ones to deal with at what is an already difficult time.

The risk of errors when you make your will with a solicitor is obviously reduced. In the very unlikely event that something did go wrong, the solicitor will have indemnity insurance so that your loved ones would be better protected and are unlikely to bear the cost of putting right a mistake.

What can a Solicitor help with when making a will?

When you make a will through a solicitor, we will discuss your personal and financial circumstances with you in detail to be sure that the will you make achieves your aims. Your will is specifically tailored to your needs.

Your solicitor will also be able to discuss with you other ways to achieve your wishes which you may not have considered;

• More tax efficient ways to deal with your assets.
• Protecting against a change of circumstances for your family in the future (care fees, remarriage, financial difficulty).

This could all lead to significant cost savings in the future.

A solicitor-drafted will also include fall-back provisions in case your primary beneficiary passes away before you, avoiding a situation where someone you had not wanted to include might otherwise end up inheriting your estate.

What if my family situation is more complicated?

Where there are stepfamilies involved or you are planning to exclude a close family member from the will, we can give further information about how to help to protect your estate for your chosen beneficiaries.

Having a solicitor-prepared will can make it more difficult for someone to argue that you did not have the capacity to make the will at the time or did not understand the implications of it.

So, is making a will with a solicitor the safest option?

As part of the will making process, we will ensure that your will is properly signed (many homemade wills end up being invalid as they have not been correctly signed). We will also store your will in our strong room. This reduces the risk of the will being lost, damaged or tampered with over time.

Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and therefore not able to close down without transferring any wills they hold to another firm and notifying you of this.

At WSP Solicitors, we also register your will on the Certainty National Wills database. Although registration on the database is not a requirement, again, this helps to ensure that your family will be aware of your will.

Making your will through a solicitor really is the sensible option to give you the peace of mind of knowing that your will is properly drafted, meets your wishes, and leave your loved ones in the best position possible after you have gone.

WSP Solicitors can help make life, less complicated. Get in touch with their Wills, Trusts and Probate team by visiting their website - https://wspsolicitors.com/legal-services/for-you/wills-trust-probate/ or by calling 01453 847200.