Specialist Will Writing Lawyers
You can’t take it with you – but you can ensure your family doesn’t fight over it
It is essential that you write a Will not least to determine who will be the beneficiaries of your estate when you pass on, and who you trust as executor to distribute your property. This is a huge decision to make, both personally and financially.
If you do decide to get an up-to-date will, make sure that you speak to a solicitor with plenty of experience in this area. Specialist wills solicitors can help you to effectively communicate your wishes in your will, in a clear way that will avoid confusion for any beneficiaries. On the contrary, a badly drafted will can have little legal meaning and can prove very stressful and expensive for your family to deal with.
Here at Wiltshire law firm, Bonallack & Bishop, our 12 strong wills, trusts and probate solicitors have the experience you need.
Free Wills Reviews
Uncertain if you need to update your existing Will or not? Take advantage of our free, no strings attached, will review offer. Simply email or call our team now to book in your FREE wills review appointment
Cohabitees are particularly vulnerable without wills
People who are unmarried and living together are particularly vulnerable – of all people, it’s perhaps cohabitees who really need to make sure that they have a will most.
That a whole host of reasons for this – not least because the intestacy rules mean that, if you’re living together outside of marriage or a civil partnership, your partner will not automatically receive any of your estate in the absence of a will. Contrary to what many people still think, there is no such thing as a “common-law marriage”. It simply doesn’t exist.
Current laws in England do not view people that have lived together as related; even if they have been together for decades and have had children together. If you pass away and do not have a will, your partner will have to go through the expense, delay and stress of inheritance dispute in an attempt to secure some or all of your estate. Perhaps most worrying of all, at a time when your loved ones are understandably distressed at losing you, any contested probate claim application is bound to increase that stress – and can split families irrevocably.
Click here to read more about cohabitation and your legal rights
When considering you will, who should you get to help you?
There are plenty of reasons why you should use specialist wills solicitors and NOT an unqualified Will writer when you want to make your Will:
• A Will is one of the most important legal documents you will ever make
• A clear, and properly drafted Will can help to prevent disputes and disagreements rising between beneficiaries, other members of the family and close friends.in fact DIY Wills are widely accepted to be one of the main reasons behind a huge increase in contested probate cases – with the High Court recording 62% more inheritance disputes in 2019 compared with 2018
• A wills and probate Solicitor can advise on more complicated issues such as trusts, estate planning and tax implications.
• Solicitors have extensive training and are heavily regulated. In contrast, many will writers are completely unqualified and are subject to no legal regulation at all. Some really are cowboys.
• Solicitors must carry a minimum of £2m professional insurance, and often much more than that – so you’re covered if things go wrong. Will writers don’t have to have any indemnity insurance – and frequently don’t. So using them can prove extremely expensive if things do go wrong.
Worried about a contested will? Click here to read more about defending or bringing an inheritance claim
Click here to read more about creating a trust
Do you need help with a new will – or updating an existing will?
Either way, our experienced Wills team can help you. And while there are plenty of reasons for having a will prepared in the 1st place, it’s often just as important to review it on a regular basis. But you don’t need to just take our word for it. Even the British government recommend regular review of their will – here’s a direct quote from the Gov.UK website;
“You should review your will every 5 years and after any major change in your life”
Our Wills and probate solicitors represent clients throughout Wiltshire from our offices in Salisbury and Amesbury.
Click here to find out more about making your will
Your will and the opportunities for tax planning
Our specialist private client team will talk through your particular financial situation to see if there are ways in which you can legitimately save tax. With the average house in Wiltshire now worth £388,951 (according to Rightmove in April 2023) and with 40% inheritance tax due on the value of Estates over just £285,000, it is not just the rich who are at risk of paying substantial amounts of inheritance tax. And with that inheritance tax rate set at 40% at least until 2026, you may be surprised to find how much tax you can save those you leave behind, with the right advance planning.
There are a number of options for you when it comes to tax and estate planning – and these include taking advantage of the main residence nil rate tax band, putting assets into a family trust and giving money away during your lifetime. But inheritance tax, or IHT as it is often known, is complex – so it doesn’t pay to take chances.
Click here to read more about inheritance tax planning can play a critical part in your wealth management plan.
Free Wills Storage
Storing your will somewhere safe is absolutely essential. You can keep it at home, but finding a secure third-party storage service is likely to be much safer. But do you pay an annual fee to either your bank or a will writer for storing your will? Many people do. But there is really no need to do so.
Here at Bonallack & Bishop, we can store your Will and House Deeds free of charge in our secure storage, with no strings attached – even if the will was not written by us in the first place.
So don’t waste your hard earned cash – get in touch with us and move the storage of your Wills and property deeds to us today.
Can my partner and I make a will together?
Yes – there are basically for different types of Wills – so in addition to making a single will, you might also want to consider Joint, Mirror and Mutual Wills.
Click here to read more about the differences between Joint, Mirror and Mutual Wills.
Want to know more about making or updating your Will?
Click here to read our Will Writing FAQs
Live in Wiltshire? Looking for Specialist Will Solicitors? Get in touch with us today
Call our expert team today for a FREE no obligation initial phone chat – or to book your Free Will Review.
• Call FREEPHONE 0800 1404544 or our local Wiltshire office numbers, Salisbury 01722 422300 or Amesbury 01980 622992
• Or email our team for a call back convenient to you by completing the contact form below
Bonallack and Bishop, Bonallack and Bishop
Rougemont House, Queensberry House,
Rougemont Close, 5 Salisbury Street,
Salisbury, Amesbury,
Wiltshire Wiltshire
SP1 1LY SP4 7AW
Tel: Salisbury [01722] 422300 Tel: Amesbury 01980 622992
