The Pros and Cons of DIY Wills

The number of British adults who have not made a Will is alarmingly high. It has been estimated that around 60% of adults have not concerned themselves with making a Will. Why not? The two main reasons seem to be cost and procrastination. Those adults who do think about making a Will are concerned about the cost of making a Will, thinking that they have to use a solicitor and that will cost a lot of money, the money they would prefer if they really thought about it that they could leave to their descendants.

The other main reason, procrastination, is harder to understand. It seems that many adults just don’t appreciate the difficulties it can cause their own relatives if they die intestate (i.e. without a formal Will having been made). It’s easy to understand why healthy, younger adults might not think it important to make a Will early in their adult life, especially if they are in debt. It’s harder to understand why so many older adults leave it to it is almost too late. A serious illness is often a trigger for making a Will.

How about online or DIY wills?

Making an online will, sometimes referred to as a DIY Will, is certainly possible. There are many apparent advantages of making an online Will. It’s quick and cheap. What could be better than that? There are now quite a lot of companies that offer a way to make a Will online, but are they to be trusted and is an online Will as good as one that has been formulated with the help of a solicitor?

Some of the disadvantages of making an online Will include:

• Online Wills may not turn out to be legal;
• Online Will templates are often too simple to allow for more complex provisions in the Will. May not be flexible enough to deal with unexpected situations like premature death of beneficiaries;
• Online Will providers may make it a condition that they provide the role of executor at considerable expense.

Online Wills may not be legal. Generally, this is because the instructions that often come with DIY Wills are not always easy to follow but the legal validity of the will once made is not guaranteed. Was the person who made the Will legally capable of making it? If the Will is not judged to be legally valid on the death of the testator, then he or she will die intestate or if a previous Will had been made, then this will be the Will that will be used to determine inheritance.

Online Wills tend to be relatively simple. That, of course, seems to be one of the main attractions. However, what if one or another of the beneficiaries dies before the testator and another Will is not made. A good Will will foresee every eventuality and propose a hierarchy of beneficiaries. This may not happen with an online will unless the testator, assuming of sound mind at the time, has sufficient legal advice, incorporates this eventuality in the Will. In the above scenario, the premature death of a beneficiary without a named replacement will mean that part, or all, of the testator’s assets will be declared intestate.

Not all online Wills are made available by private providers, but many are. Some of these providers make it a condition that the testator uses them as an executor at a cost that can negate the advantage of using the provider in the first place. Additionally, using a commercial executor can present problems down the road, although in a situation where the testator has no suitable family or friends to fulfil the role, there may be little choice. The use of a commercial executor can often seriously reduce the eventual value of the inheritance.

The case for using a solicitor

In Britain, solicitors who offer the service of making Wills and testaments are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. They are experienced in helping their clients through the process of drafting a will and have a duty to discuss how much they are going to charge for their services. Solicitors may cost more than an online will, but you can rest assured that your Will will be better formulated and will not cost your beneficiaries their inheritance or thousands of pounds if the Will is challenged.