{"id":10088,"date":"2021-07-05T17:17:51","date_gmt":"2021-07-05T16:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/?p=10088"},"modified":"2021-07-05T17:17:51","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T16:17:51","slug":"can-i-write-my-own-will-and-is-it-legally-binding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/can-i-write-my-own-will-and-is-it-legally-binding\/","title":{"rendered":"Can I write my own will and is it legally binding"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

In a word, yes. You can buy DIY will forms online, or from a high street store, for as little as \u00a35.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing your own will is legally binding if you do it correctly. It\u2019s also cheap, fast and can be a good option for certain people in certain circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cDIY often work for young, single people with no children.\u00a0 They wish to leave their assets to loved ones,\u201d explains Maplebrook Wills\u2019 Mike Pugh. \u201cPeople tend to opt for DIY wills if they\u2019re about to have an operation or about to take a flight and have a bad feeling, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issues<\/h3>\n

However, problems can arise if you do not know what you\u2019re doing. If you make a mistake during the most crucial stage \u2013 the signing of the document, known as the attestation \u2013 your DIY will will not be legally binding.<\/p>\n

The person whose will it is \u2013 the testatrix if it is a woman or testator if it\u2019s a man \u2013 must sign the document in the presence of two witnesses. The witnesses, who must also sign it, need to be over the age of 18. They cannot be beneficiaries of the will.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s generally where people make mistakes. They don\u2019t realise that all three people have to be in the same room at the same time and witness it together,\u201d says Pugh.<\/p>\n

Even if you do this correctly, it\u2019s possible that other errors could creep in. If so, this could lead to parts of the will being invalid \u2013 a situation known as \u2018partial intestacy\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere could be some duplication, clauses that are poorly written or that cancel out one another, or mix-ups with the beneficiaries of trusts. The result might be a gift, potentially worth thousands of pounds, that can\u2019t be claimed by the person you intended to have it,\u201d says Pugh.<\/p>\n

Getting a professional<\/h3>\n

Fortunately, you can get a legally valid will from a professional will writer for a fraction of the cost of a traditional high-street solicitor.<\/p>\n

If you decide to use a will writer, there\u2019s a very important question to ask, says Pugh. \u201cDo they prepare the documents themselves or do they send them away? If they prepare the documents themselves, they\u2019re probably more switched on and will do a decent job.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth asking if your will writer is affiliated with any of the national will-writing organisations. Accredited writers have the benefit of professional indemnity insurance. This protects their business in the event of claims against them, such as accidental damage of property.<\/p>\n

A trusted brand<\/h3>\n

The will writers at\u00a0Maplebrook Wills<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0are accredited specialists who\u2019ve written hundreds of wills. They know the exact wording to use for your circumstances, so you can have confidence that your assets will be passed on exactly as you intend.<\/p>\n

Instead of having to visit an office, a Maplebrook Wills will writer can come to you at a convenient time. They\u2019ll discuss your needs in detail before drawing up a document, returning when it\u2019s ready to sign.<\/p>\n

The process takes around two weeks from start to finish and typically involves no more than two hours of your time in total.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a word, yes. You can buy DIY will forms online, or from a high street store, for as little as \u00a35. Writing your own will is legally binding if you do it correctly. It\u2019s also cheap, fast and can be a good option for certain people in certain circumstances. \u201cDIY often work for young, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[92,240],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-maplebrook-wills","category-accountancy-and-finance-franchises"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/legal-law.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.franchiselocal.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}