A Will tells the people you love what you want, in your own words.

Two tiers. Online Wills (no advice, box-ticking form) are fixed: Single £120 including VAT, Mirror £180 including VAT. Bespoke Wills with a consultation are from £300 for a Single Will and from £480 for Mirror Wills, with the final price depending on consultant and complexity. Wills involving trusts, business interests or Inheritance Tax planning are quoted individually. We always confirm a price in writing before any work begins.

For a straightforward Will, expect two to three weeks from first consultation to signed document. More complex Wills take longer because they need more thought and often more meetings.

Legally yes. The risks are real, though. Wills must be signed and witnessed correctly to be valid (under section 9 of the Wills Act 1837). Homemade Wills frequently include ambiguous wording that creates disputes after death, accidentally exclude beneficiaries the testator wanted to include, or fail to address common scenarios like a beneficiary predeceasing the testator. Most homemade Wills hold up; the ones that don't can be very expensive to fix.

Your estate is distributed according to the rules of intestacy. These rules are fixed and apply regardless of what you would have wanted. They prioritise spouses and blood relatives in a strict order; they do not recognise unmarried partners or stepchildren; and they can result in distant relatives inheriting where you intended specific people to. The intestacy process is also typically slower and more administratively burdensome than dealing with a Will.

Yes. You cannot leave assets directly to a pet (a pet cannot legally own property), but you can leave a sum of money to a named person on the understanding that they will look after your pet. We commonly include such provisions.

Yes. These are called specific gifts and they can be of named items (a piece of jewellery, a particular painting), specified sums of money (£5,000 to a named beneficiary), or named property. Specific gifts are honoured before the residue of the estate is distributed.

Yes. Charitable legacies in Wills are common, often Inheritance Tax-efficient, and they make a real difference to charities. We can include named charities, specify whether the gift is for general purposes or restricted use, and even build in a 'letter of wishes' alongside the Will to guide the charity on how the gift should be applied.

Wills can be challenged on several grounds, including lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, lack of knowledge and approval, or improper execution. A properly drafted Will, witnessed correctly, with the testator in capacity at the time, is much harder to challenge successfully. We take detailed notes during instruction meetings and these notes are valuable evidence if a challenge is ever made.