Wills and Later Life Planning
Let’s get you straight to the right place.
Expert law with a human approach.
Ready to speak to an expert? Browse the profiles of our legal experts to find out more about their previous work and the specialist knowledge they can use to support you.How do I go about writing my will?
You have a right to decide what happens to your money, property, and possessions after you die.
These things combined form your ‘estate’, and you can decide who’s responsible for dealing with them. This person is called your executor. The people who will inherit them are called your beneficiaries (someone can be both an executor and a beneficiary).
Will planning isn’t just about fairness, but tax efficiency. Your beneficiaries will usually have to pay inheritance tax on anything over £325,000, or £650,000 for married couples and civil partners, after any mortgage or debts are deducted.
You don’t have to make a will. If you don’t, the law will decide what happens to your estate through ‘rules of intestacy’. These rules can be very rigid, so bear in mind your family might struggle to contest them after you have died.
There are so many more questions to be asked about wills, so we have a dedicated guide here.
What will a solicitor do to help?
We’ve acted as executors for many of our clients and administered thousands of estates, so we can safely say you are in expert hands. We can help you:
- Set up trusts and make gifts to charity
- Minimise inheritance tax as much as possible
- Appoint legal guardians for any children who are still minors
- Name trusted people as executor(s) to sort out your affairs when you die
- Change an existing will to reflect life changes (marriage, divorce, births of children or grandchildren).
All in all, we’ll work hard to make sure what you leave behind is given to the right people.
Making an enquiry
We have several ways you can contact us, either by completing our online contact form, by phone, or using our live chat. If you start your journey online, here are the first steps to working together.
Complete our online formWe need a few details to understand your situation and the kind of support you need.
We’ll contact you by phoneOn the call our experts will ask you a few more questions to make sure we connect you with the right legal advice from our team.
We arrange a full appointmentYour next step is an in-depth appointment with a specialist solicitor to discuss how we could advise you.
How do I change my existing will?
We advise reviewing your will every five years. Tax laws can affect your will and its value, as can certain life events, like:
- Getting married
- Getting divorced
- A serious injury or illness
- When new children or grandchildren are born
- When there’s a major change in your finances
- When one of your beneficiaries gets married or dies
- You come into any inheritance yourself (this could change the value of your estate – and the inheritance tax payable).
For small changes, you can add a ‘codicil’ (addition) to your will. For major changes, it’s usually better to write a new will.
Our Wills Assured Service means you don’t have to keep paying extra fees as you update your will. As always, we can help you decide what to do.
Planning for later-in-life relationships
We can help you navigate bringing a new partner into your life when you may already have a will, have grown up children, or plan to live together or remarry.
We can also help if you are concerned about an older relative entering into a new relationship.
Although it’s sad to say, new relationships can cause disagreements about who will inherit from you after you die. Remarrying, living together, or having someone care for you can affect who’s entitled to your assets.
Wills and pre- and post-nuptial agreements can help you keep control over what happens.
Our care package advises you on:
- Making or updating your will
- Marrying or living with a new partner
- Protecting cherished family assets like jewellery, artworks, or your home
- Pre- and post-nuptial agreements to help protect you or your business if a new relationship breaks down.
We’ll send you a questionnaire to help us assess your situation, then we’ll arrange a meeting between you and one of our experts, all for a fixed fee of £500 + VAT.
You can also ask us about fixed fee packages to help with:
There are a few ways to set up your will.
Online or by postIf your estate and wishes are straightforward and you don’t want tax or trust advice, just pay a fixed fee and we’ll handle everything remotely. You will get perks like free lifetime secure will storage, free minor updates, and a 15% discount on preparing a power of attorney.- With our bespoke serviceIf you have a complex or high-value estate, business, overseas, or agricultural assets, or want to set up trusts, we’ll tailor our advice to get the most value possible into the hands of your beneficiaries. Costs will depend on your unique situation - we can advise over the phone.
- For Sharia compliant willsA Sharia-compliant Islamic Will (Wasiyyah) can be suitable for Muslims who’d like their assets to pass in accordance with the Sharia law. We have in-house experts in Sharia law compliance, and can set up your will in a way that follows your faith. More info here.
Dealing with wills can be daunting. We help make things smoother.
Fill out our form, and you will get a callback within 24-48 hours.
Our locations
Work with a full-service firm with solicitors in 21 UK locations, giving you national expertise with local support.
.jpg%3Fh%3D900%26iar%3D0%26w%3D1072&w=3840&q=75){kind=logo}