Anyone made a diy will (on line) Are there any problems. Do they do what they say in the ads.?

Answer 1

I'm also a solicitor in a public-sector trustee company. I wholeheartedly support the previous posters' view - DON'T DO IT! My company also makes a good chunk of its revenue from fixing up homemade wills gone wrong. In most cases, the deceased and their family would have been far better off with no Will at all... Will Kits and online Wills are a false economy.

Answer 2

I'm old but not ready to WILL out just yet; but there are hundreds of DIY will kits out there.
In a general sense they probably are pretty standard; and might even include most of the verbage one might need.

Certainly they might possibly, also be a bit vague? The issue is more about having all the I's dotted, all the T's crossed, and to be as specific as possible, then at the very least have it dated, signed, and registered in some way; as well as having it notorized by someone of good standing in that line. Then don't keep it on the pile with old mail.

Do they do what they say... Is pretty relative.If everything included in any template based situation like that is legal,,,and certainly you can consult to find that out, then DO is what YOU say in the context of the "Will" In fact that's pretty much what it's all about "this document states, "DO MY WILL"

Certainly before you sign away your Estate in the Bahamas or the Millions of shares of Microsoft stock; you should probably seek attention from someone in the legal profession.

Answer 3

You have probably never seen a legal textbook on wills, but they run to 500 pages or so, full of the right wording to use, with details of the thousands of court cases which resulted from the wrong wording.
It's a very technical subject, and it isn't worth leaving your relatives arguing among themselves, when you can get a will professionally prepared by a solicitor for less than the cost of getting your car serviced. So, I agree with my namesake above - it isn't worth the risk of filling in a few boxes on a website, expecting it to print out something which really reflects your wishes.

Answer 4

Well if when you say 'do they do what they say in the ads' what you mean is, if I do this the bargain basement way and spend a tenner on a shop bought pack, will I have to figure it all out myself, make sure I word it right, make sure I make provisions to dispose of everything I own and can I manage to make sure I get it signed and witnessed correctly, myself, using my own brains and by thoroughly and carefully reading the instructions, whilst bearing in mind that the company/shop that sold me the product has a huge raft of disclaimers so that if it does go wrong, there's no possible comeback against them and my final wishes might then be ignored....then yes, you get exactly what you pay for.

For gods sake, go to a solicitor. Yes, it'll cost you around £100, but you KNOW it will be right, and if it does all go pear shaped, their liability insurance means they'll be obligated to sort it out for you. And in the scheme of things, is £100 that much to pay for peace of mind, possible tax advice and (usually) free lifetime storage?