Do-it-Yourself (DIY) Wills

You could choose to create your own Do-it-Yourself (DIY) Will rather than consult a specialist. This would almost certainly be a “cheap” course of action. Likewise, you could undertake your own dentistry, defend yourself in court against a wrongful accusation of a serious crime or unilaterally educate your children up to degree level. These would all be “cheap” solutions; however, you may not be confident that you would achieve any of these successfully whilst avoiding any unseen pitfalls.

DIY Wills are not always the best approach and usually fail to account for at least some potential future circumstances.

Some of the issues that could arise are outlined below:

You may own a business and wish to correctly authorise your Executors (or someone else) to deal with your business on your behalf after your death; or

You may have a large estate and not know how to protect your assets in case your surviving spouse remarries or needs long-term care after your death (when undertaken correctly, the quality of any care which a surviving spouse subsequently receives would be undiminished); or

You may choose to exclude an estranged spouse or an estranged child or children from inheriting from you, yet not know how best to achieve this or the true consequences of your actions; or

Your Will may not be legally valid. Was it signed and witnessed correctly according to the law?

If you have minor children, have you correctly appointed a guardian or guardians to look after those children and cover the costs of their upbringing in the event of your death, thus avoiding potential future family disputes or financial hardship for those guardians?

You may have a beneficiary with addiction problems, learning difficulties, battling illness, or experiencing other vulnerabilities. Have you effectively protected their long-term interests by appointing a custodian of their inheritance whilst also providing that beneficiary with the correct proportion of your estate?

A beneficiary may have also witnessed your Will, thus automatically disinheriting themselves by law as a result.

In a recent High Court case, the issue of a DIY Will made headlines when Terri Tibbles was awarded her father’s entire estate value of £300,000.

Terri was close to her father William, and she expected to inherit his estate when he died in 2018. William had made a Will in March 2017 and alongside his Will there was also a letter of wishes in which he stated that Terri’s twin sister Kelly, along with his other daughters Cindy and Susan “had been a disappointment to him.” The same letter of wishes also referred to his son Paul being financially secure.

Three days after William’s death, a second more recent Will was found which was created on a sheet of paper which appeared to be torn from a notebook and merely handed to his solicitor. This later Will stated that his entire estate should be shared equally between Kelly, Susan, Cindy, and Paul so that Terri had been completely disinherited. Paul was named as the Executor of the Will and when questioned, Paul maintained that the Will was validly signed and witnessed on the day before his father was admitted to hospital. He also stated that his other sisters had cared for their father during his final months and that as a result, his father was determined to revoke his pre-existing March 2017 Will.

The Will was challenged by Terri on the grounds that “it would have been totally uncharacteristic for him to prepare a DIY Will, considering his long history of previous dealings with solicitors. The document could just as well have been written and signed by anybody!”

The court ruled in Terri’s favour because following expert evidence, the handwriting and signature was judged to belong to someone other than William. There was also no evidence that the most recent Will had been created at William’s request nor was any reasoning provided by William as to why Terri was suddenly being disinherited.

Provided you seek out a competitively priced and suitably qualified Will Writing professional with appropriate indemnity insurances in place, is it worth the risk of saving a little money to then make a dangerous and/or expensive mistake in protecting your family’s interests after your death?

For further information WITHOUT fear of consultation fees or obligation, please visit our Wills page or contact us now for free no obligation advice.