writing a will as a non-married couple

[jobnockey]

Just looking for some advice re: sorting out a will. We don't have a lot of spare cash so am thinking a DIY will would be most affordable for us, but as we are unmarried (and don't plan on getting married) would this be advisable or would it be better to cough up the cash and get a solicitor involved? I only ask as a friend has told me that it is more complicated for unmarried couples. To be honest, we don't really have any assets as such (we rent and the only thing of any value we have is one piece of art) it would jusyt be a case of me getting stuff if DP pops his clogs and vice versa, or if we both die then DS getting our meagre offerings and of course to be looked after by whoever we chose. Are there any other considerations I haven't thought of? Any advice would be great.

[olgaga]

You might find this helpful:
www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_family/family_index_ew/living_together_and_marriage_legal_differences.htm

www.advicenow.org.uk/living-together/wills-inheritance-issues/

[AlanMoore]

If you can stretch to it I would pay for a solicitor to do it to be on the safe side. It is more difficult wrt to finances/legal if your OH dies and you are unmarried so best to have a will which covers everything it possibly can if you see what I mean.

[youngermother1]

get married, its great :o

[olgaga]

I second youngermother. If you are planning on purchasing property and having children together, you'll miss out on a lot of benefits if you aren't married - as those links explain.

It's still better to have wills, married or not, for the surviving partner/spouse.

[jobnockey]

Thans for the links... very useful. As for marriage, well we are extremely happily un-married at the moment! after a quick look at that info, due to our circumstances, being married wouldn't actually change much for us as we do't actually own anything!. DP is named on DS's birth certificate as his dad. Main reason we want a will is to appoint a guardian for DS if we both die.
Olgaga - what are the benefits we could be missing out on as unmarried parents? I'm really not interested in being a wife but if its financially beneficial i could be persuaded!
maybe if we can ever get on the property ladder we could rethink the marriage issue.
thanks everyone for the advice, much appreciated.

[Amateurish]

Just DIY with a will pack from WHSmith. It's very easy. We did like you want to - all property to each other, and then to our kids. You can also specify a preferred guardian in that eventuality.

Buying a property wouldn't necessarily make your affairs more complicated. If you bought as joint tenants, then the whole house will automatically be left to the remaining partner if the other dies.

The only current financial benefit to being married is that there is no inheritance tax on property left to a spouse. However, there is also an exemption for the first £300k of inheritance, and it doesn't sounds like you'll be hitting that anyway.

[prh47bridge]

Being married also puts you in a stronger position should the relationship break down. You will then be entitled to a fair share of the assets. If you are unmarried, in broad terms, anything in his name belongs to him, anything in your name belongs to you, anything in joint names has to be split between you.

Just DIY with a will pack from WHSmith

I would not recommend DIY. It doesn't cost much to get a will drawn up properly (mumblechum1 writes wills and has an ad in the small business classifieds section - she charges £140 for a couple). Solicitors will tell you that they get a lot of business sorting out problems caused by DIY wills. A solicitor or good will writer will help you to think through possible situations that might arise and ensure your will is properly drawn up so that it won't cause problems and is unlikely to be challenged.

If you still want to DIY, note that a will pack generally contains forms and some guidance. You don't need the forms - you can write a will on plain paper. Whether or not the guidance is worth the money is for you to judge.

[jobnockey]

Thanks for all the replies, will have a chat with DP and decide what's best for us.

[mummytime]

Getting married could just be a trip to the registry office, drag in a couple of witnesses off the street, and no one else needs to know, until you need the legal protection.

With a child involved any wills need to be done properly, so do get proper advice.

[Amateurish]

Getting married might save a bit of money on writing wills in the short term, but could end up costing a lot more in legal fees if you decide to split later on...

A DIY will pack (or at least the one I used) will contain all the necessary legal wording - you just need to fill in the blanks (e.g. names). It works fine as long as you keep things very simple - in my case all property to my DP, and then to my DCs.

[MOSagain]

Please, please, please do not get a DIY pack. I have read numerous cases where people have done this and not followed instructions and will was not valid. Please don't do this. It is not as simple as Amateurish claims and if either you or your partner dies and the other then finds out the wills were not valid the survivor will be in a very difficult position.

Money spent on getting wills professionaly drafted is money well spent. Have a look at Mumblechum's ad in small businesses. She charges significantly less than a High Street firm of Solicitors would charge.

[MOSagain]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/small_business_ads/1371132-5-Will-Writing-Service-Recommended-by-Mumsnetters

line

[Amateurish]

With respect MOS, you are scaremongering. It is easy as long as you keep things simple and follow the (simple) instructions. Of course solicitors would like you to think that only a professional can write a will. But the reality is that if you know what you want to do, have simple requirements, you can do it yourself.

[mumblechum1]

Hi OP, as others have mentioned, I run a will writing business, and have an ad over on the small business section of classified ads.

Thanks MOS and prh47 Bridge for the plugs.

The main reason for you to do a will OP is that you won't inherit anything from each other automatically as you're not married. Also if you have children, you can appoint a Guardian in your wills.

Furthermore, although you may not have much now, your circumstances may change in the future, and a will written now will cover whatever you have to leave, probably many decades in the future.

[BrianTheBrainSurgeon]

Wow thanks for starting this thread OP we are in exactly the same situation and have been procrastinating making our wills and finding a guardian for DS for ages.
Need to pull fingers out and do a DIY will - no excuses now!
Good luck with yours :) and

[MOSagain]

Amateurish with respect, I am not scaremongering. I am a lawyer and although I don't do wills and probate I know several lawyers that do. A couple of them have had to step in and deal with some DIY wills that were not drafted/executed correctly and sorting out the mess that was left behind cost more than a properly drafted will would cost.

There was an article some years ago about the WH Smiths DIY wills that had incorrect instructions with them. Anyone following the instructions could have ended up with a will that was not valid.

Even solicitors get it wrong. My late aunt had a will drafted by a large well known firm of Solicitors who failed to notice when she returned the will to them for safekeeping that it had not been executed correctly. The mistake only came to light after her death. I am therefore not scaremongering, I am simply pointing out that money spent getting a will professionally drafted is money well spent.

[prh47bridge]

I agree that MOSagain is not scaremongering. A DIY will may be ok but far too often it ends up causing problems. Common mistakes include:

• failing to sign the will(!)
  
• witnesses not present when the will is signed
  
• witnesses signing the will at different times
  
• using a beneficiary as a witness
  
• leaving money for children but failing to put it into trust or failing to name trustees
  
• incorrect amendments
  

If a solicitor gets it wrong they will be liable for any costs involved in fixing it. If you get it wrong the costs of fixing it come out of your estate.

I would add that Amateurish doesn't actually know whether or not her will is valid. I hope she is correct that it is.

[MOSagain]

Exactly prh. My late aunt's solicitor failed to notice that the will was witnessed by the husband of the residuary beneficiary

[mumblechum1]

I offer a free checking service for people who I don't meet face to face (I cover all England and Wales), so people scan the back page to me for checking before they go to storage.

Just in the last week, I've had a witness write their surname but not first name, witness write first name but not surname, and someone who dated their will 2011 (last Tuesday!).

[olgaga]

I'm quite savvy but I'd never do a DIY will. Having seen the difficulties people go through when there is no will or an incomplete/inaccurate/absurd one, I would tell anyone to go to a solicitor or a will writer. Think of it as an investment in your future and put the expense into perspective.

Think of how much you spend on your utility bills/council tax/weekly shop/satellite tv/meal out etc.

It's a one-off expense which buys lasting peace of mind. Especially if you're cohabiting rather than married. However, the upset and delay caused by the lack of a will can be terribly traumatic even if you are married.

[Amateurish]

If OP has £150 spare and wants "peace of mind" then by all means follow the advertising in the thread.

But the reality is that all a will needs to be valid is that it is written, signed and witnessed. All the mistakes that prh47bridge lists are clearly avoided by following the simple instructions. It really is just a case of:

a) insert name
b) insert partner's name
c) sign
d) witnesses (not beneficiaries) sign.

As for using a will writer, well that is itself fraught with danger. I'm sure I watched a Panorama programme a couple of years ago about how many ran a scam and cheated their clients out of thousands of pounds. Will writers are unqualified and unregulated. So my advice would be use a lawyer, if you don't want to do it yourself.

[mumblechum1]

Amateurish, actually, not all will writers are unqualified and unregulated. I am a qualified lawyer and the freelance will writing business I run is a member of the Institute of Professionall Willwriters for which Ihad to pass exams and is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading.

And other lawyers on this thread recommended me before I joined it.

I think you are rather rude.

[Amateurish]

Don't shoot the messenger, I'm just repeating what the Legal Ombudsman reported!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14180643

Will writing is unregulated, which is why I suggested using a lawyer, which you say you are? So my comments were certainly not directed at you.

[mummytime]

And before you think I won't make any of those mistakes, well.....
I filled in two passport forms last year for my oldest DC, and despite being highly educated, having applied for a lot of passports (mine and the kids), I failed to realise that as they were over 12 they needed to sign it themselves. With a passport it is returned and corrected within a month. With a will it may not be noticed until after you are dead.

[mumblechum1]

Will Writing will be regulated from later on this year, or early next. From that time, all will writers will need to be a member of one of the main professional bodies, ie qualified, regulated subject to random checking for quality.