What is the cheapest way to make a simple will?

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Cathbarr

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Just wondering where would be the best and cheapest place to make a will. It would be a fairly simple one such as my husband gives everything to me or vice versa if anything happened to one of us or the kids get everything if something happened to both of us. Also want to legally formalise guardianship of the kids if anything happened to us.

Does anyone have any tips or advice?
 
In case it helps...

Making a will

What is a will? The practical steps involved in making a will and what happens when someone dies without having made a will.
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie
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There are other DIY will options available.
 
RedOnion said:
I would recommend getting a solicitor to make your will. There are so many potential pitfalls with incorrectly doing it (even down to arguments over witnesses, etc).
Most solicitors make wills at a loss, in the hope of getting other business in future.
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I could approach my own solicitor as we used them 2 years ago for a mortgage switcher. Will email them and get a price.
 
Yep, use your solicitor it's as simple as that.

My solicitor offers a free will service for existing customers but I suspect there is a hidden charge for storing the will or perhaps listing him as the executor. Where he'll make his money back many fold during execution.
 
One piece of advice that I need to heed myself for ease of execution is tomaintain a live inventory of assets with account numbers and descriptions etc.

Such a list can make the execution of the will more efficient and more economical.

A paper copy stored at home in a place the executor knows about or perhaps on a document on a shared drive that the executor has access to.
 
Cathbarr said:
best and cheapest place to make a will
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The cheapest way is definitely not the best option. Many a Will not drafted properly has cost lots and lots of money to sort out at a later stage.

My parents thought it best to avail of the free Will service with their local credit union many moons ago. The solicitor did provide the standard Wills free of charge but put a clause in along the lines that they would deal with the Estate after their death. A settlement fee had to be paid to allow our preferred solicitor to handle it instead. Horatio makes reference to the situation above.
 
Up Rovers said:
The solicitor did provide the standard Wills free of charge but put a clause in along the lines that they would deal with the Estate after their death. A settlement fee had to be paid to allow our preferred solicitor to handle it instead.
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Is such a restriction and buy out clause actually enforceable? o_O
 
Gordon Gekko said:
Not exactly the Great Train Robbery to be fair…
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Agreed but why do they need to be paid anything at all if the service is advertised as free. Holding people to ransom in what is a smart alec way and false advertising.

IMHO its as bad as a certain well known animal charity advertising a free will service but at the same time mentioning 'all we ask is that you leave a bequest/donation of €500 to us'. People have disagreed with me in the past when discussing this but to my mind that makes it again not a free will service.
 
Up Rovers said:
Agreed but why do they need to be paid anything at all if the service is advertised as free. Holding people to ransom in what is a smart alec way and false advertising.
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Because they put that clause in?
Didn't your parents read the documents that they signed?
Up Rovers said:
The solicitor did provide the standard Wills free of charge but put a clause in along the lines that they would deal with the Estate after their death. A settlement fee had to be paid to allow our preferred solicitor to handle it instead.
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I'm still dubious that such a clause would be enforceable to be honest. What are they going to do if the executors go elsewhere? Sue them? That'd be great for their reputation.
 
Use your existing solicitor and the one someone would use to manage probate, in my own case they did it for free as it was similar to what the OP is asking for here and they know they will get further business down the line
 
ClubMan said:
Because they put that clause in?
Didn't your parents read the documents that they signed?

I'm still dubious that such a clause would be enforceable to be honest. What are they going to do if the executors go elsewhere? Sue them? That'd be great for their reputation.
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Of course it's unenforceable. But in the aftermath of a death, bereaved family members often lack the stomach (1) for a fight with a solicitor; (2) to take the deceased's will elsewhere. I've told here previously of a case where a couple made a "cheap" will with a solicitor to whom their children ended up paying €60,000 to process it.
 
Horatio said:
Yep, use your solicitor it's as simple as that.

My solicitor offers a free will service for existing customers but I suspect there is a hidden charge for storing the will or perhaps listing him as the executor. Where he'll make his money back many fold during execution.
Click to expand...
This comes up over and over. See this discussion

Establishment of assets on death

Hi, When a person dies, assuming with no will in place, how would an executor establish the persons assets? Would he write to all banks in the country and ask for full disclosure?Also, do the revenue have any input when someone dies? i.e. does it trigger an audit of the deceased estate or...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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