Will Writing Services

Writing a will is essential for safeguarding your family’s financial future after you die, but it can often be a complex process. Getting it wrong could mean that your will is invalid, potentially leading to legal disputes for your family to get what was rightfully left to them.

Enlisting the help of a professional will writing service is an important step towards avoiding these legal pitfalls. At Clough & Willis, our expert will writing solicitors can help to guide you through the entire process, using our years of experience and knowledge of wills, trust and probate law to help you get this right.

We will listen carefully to your instructions and assist you in drafting and executing your will, ensuring that all of the estate planning and legal requirements are properly taken care of. This will provide you with peace of mind, knowing you have done everything to make sure your family will be taken care of even after you are gone.

To speak to a solicitor about will writing advice and estate planning, call Clough & Willis on 0800 083 0815, or fill in our online enquiry form to request a call back at a time that’s convenient for you.

How we can help

At Clough & Willis, our specialist will writing solicitors are here to provide the legal guidance you will need to handle all aspects of will writing, offering personally tailored and compassionate support at each step of the process.

Our team will take your instructions and walk you through all of the relevant estate planning considerations, before overseeing the writing of the will itself and helping you to ensure that your wishes will be carried out by the executors of your estate.

This includes discussing with you any potential Inheritance Tax charges that may be due on your estate, and working out how it can be reduced, either in conjunction with the will writing or as separate specialist advice.

We also provide these additional services:

• Establishing powers of attorney
• Setting up trusts and putting properties into trusts during your lifetime
• Making a gift of your property
• Addressing concerns about care fees and suggesting alternative financial arrangements, including equity release

Our private client team consists of Nicola Finbow, Ryan Browne and Rafia Faruk all with extensive experience. Nicola is a specialist solicitor is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), further underlining their expertise in this area of law.

At every step of the process, we will aim to provide a friendly and personal service that’s free of jargon. We understand that this can be a stressful situation to deal with, which is why we are also committed to transparency on costs - we will confirm our fixed fee during your initial meeting, with no hidden charges beyond that.

Download our will writing checklist

When working with solicitors to create a new will, it is important to consider everything that needs to be included. What are the most important things to put in your will, and how should you select your beneficiaries and executors? What laws will you need to be aware of when writing and validating the document?

We understand that this can seem like a complex process, which is why we have put together a Wills Checklist. This document will guide you through everything you need to consider before making a will in a simple, user-friendly manner; by checking all the boxes, you can ensure that your will is comprehensive, legally binding and offers full protection for you and your family.

To get started, save or download the document below, or print out the plain text version if you’d prefer to have a physical copy.

CLICK HERE FOR WILLS CHECKLIST

CLICK HERE FOR PLAIN TEXT WILLS CHECKLIST

Why is making a will so important?

A will provides certainty and peace of mind. It is the only way of ensuring that your estate, finances and property can be passed on to your loved ones in accordance with your wishes after you die, without friends or family having to overcome significant legal challenges.

If you die without a legally valid will, complex intestacy rules will govern how your estate is dealt with upon your death, which could mean your intended heirs do not benefit from your estate in the way you wanted. For example:

• Your spouse may not inherit the whole of your estate, and may have to share your property and assets with more distant relatives
• The law does not recognise the concept of a "common law spouse", so cohabiting partners are not automatically entitled to any inheritance under the intestacy rules
• Any properties that you jointly own may pass into the sole possession of a co-owner, without your immediate family being able to make a claim for them
• The intestacy rules do not include or extend to step-children, meaning they could be left with nothing without a will
• Your friends cannot inherit your estate without being included in your will, even if you have no other living relatives
• In some cases, your estate could pass to the government, without any of your loved ones seeing benefits

It is essential to seek advice from a professional will writing service to ensure your will is properly drafted to prevent these outcomes. It is also important that someone knows where your will is stored, as a lost will can also result in your wishes being ignored.