Online Wills - the public beware

As a long standing law firm in this area, Pengillys feel it is their duty to draw peoples attention to the pit-falls and potential disasters of using an online Will service.  Deciding to make a Will is an important step and needs to be carried out with an expert solicitor who can understand your circumstances, what you wish to accomplish and guide you through the law so this can be achieved.  Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and have undergone many years of training to qualify.  The solicitor would wish to see a client face to face to ensure the client understands what he wants to do and that he has the mental capacity to make a Will.  The solicitor will check that the client has not been forced or bullied into making a Will.  Solicitors provide advice ranging from tax considerations to preserving assets from care fees to providing for minor or disabled beneficiaries and ensure that what is proposed is the best way of achieving the desired outcome.

Solicitors for the Elderly, a national association of lawyers who specialise in acting for older and vulnerable adults, are increasingly hearing of problems concerning cheap or free Wills often created online.  Many of these apparently free services make money by charging large sums for the storage of the Will whereas solicitors rarely charge for holding Wills.  A recent online Will provider states that the Wills will be checked by a solicitor and this is something that the Solicitors for the Elderly and it's members are concerned about.

Local Solicitors for the Elderly member, Stephen Jones of Pengillys Weymouth and Dorchester, said "solicitors are being asked to check these Wills free of charge yet have never met the maker of the Will and cannot ascertain the persons identity, mental capacity, any conflicts, pressure or undue influence placed on them.  I understand that many online Will writers do not ask for financial details and they therefore do not check the inheritance tax and other legal implications of making a Will".

Whilst a free or cheap Will may seem attractive, if a Will is not prepared correctly it is fraught with danger and the worst thing is that no matter how bad that Will is, because any problems would not manifest them selves until after death, it would then be too late to put them right.