Ian Gosling

What if someone in my will dies before I do?

by | | Help: Estate, Knowledge Base, Friends and Family |

Unfortunately it does happen. Quite often you make your will years in advance of actually needing it and a lot can change during that time. So, if someone dies who you’ve named as a beneficiary in your will, what will happen? You have three options: 1. Change your will – if someone dies you could amend your will or write a new one to reflect that change. We recommend you review your will on a regular basis anyway to see if any changes need to be made. 2. With an Affio will you can sp

Do I need a solicitor to sign or witness my Will?

by | | Knowledge Base, The Basics |

No. In fact a solicitor doesn’t need to have any involvement at all in your Will to make it legally valid. Your witnesses You can choose your own witnesses (you’ll need two of them) and they can be pretty much anyone as long as they understand what they are doing and are able to see your signature. In practice it a good idea to choose someone who is an adult and somebody whom you expect can be traced after you die, in case they have to give evidence about the signing of the Will. You should a

Who do I need to provide for in my will?

by | | Help: Estate, Knowledge Base, Friends and Family |

It is essentially up to you who you decide to leave an inheritance to in your will – there are no rules about who you must include. But before you decide to leave someone out you might want to consider the impact this will have after you’ve gone. If someone is excluded If you choose to exclude (or neglect to include) someone who is dependant on you financially they may be able to challenge your will in court. Find out more in our ‘When can your will be challenged in court’ article. A challenge

When can your Will be challenged in court?

by | | Knowledge Base, What Happens Next |

Just because you have a will it doesn’t mean everyone’s going to be happy with its contents when you die. Whilst everything might be very amicable now, start talking inheritance and those you care about might not completely agree with what your final wishes are, either through resentment or simply through not understanding your Will’s contents. A person can’t contest a will just because they’re unhappy with what it says. Sometimes wills are challenged in court on the basis that they are not le

How much does it cost to write a Will?

by | | Knowledge Base, The Basics |

Writing a Will with Affio can cost nothing. With other providers the costs involved, much like anything, depends on a number of factors – how you have your will written, who does it and how complex your circumstances are. Typically having your will written by a solicitor starts at about £150 but people often use an unregulated will-writer and this is cheaper.  A recent survey found that most people pay between £50 and £150: Amount paid for a willPercentage of survey£0-£5014%£51-£15047%£151-£30