Video Transcript:

Hi, this is Matt, from Leech & Co Solicitors, just a short video about Wills and whether you should use a Solicitor to make your Will or try and do it yourself or use a Will-Writing Company.

So, should you use a Solicitor? Basically, yes, we think so. You might’ve guessed that would be my answer and you might be thinking, as a Solicitor, well he would say that wouldn’t he, but there are genuine reasons and those genuine reasons are for your protection as the client, to help you out, to make the process straightforward and streamlined and it’s for your benefit all the way.

A Solicitor will be legally trained, has legal knowledge, will have experience of dealing with similar matters to yours and will be skilled in asking the right questions and obtaining the right information from you to make sure your Will is not only right, but is right for you.

Solicitors have all of that experience, knowledge and skills. However, if you do it yourself or use someone who is not legally trained or doesn’t have that experience, you don’t have the benefit of that experience and training. You’re then in a situation where “you don’t know what you don’t know” so you might think you’re pitting the right information in getting it right in terms of the technical, legal aspects, but you might not be and you won’t know.
You might trying to put the content in to make it right for you, but you might not ask yourself the right questions or you might not know there’s a better way to do things, but you won’t know this so in the end the Will doesn’t do what you want it to do. That’s not the point of a Will.

Unfortunately, you won’t know and with a Will, by the nature of a Will, you won’t know it’s not right for you or it’s not right or it’s completely wrong or it’s invalid until it is too late i.e. after you’re no longer here. So, when the time comes to use the Will, it’s too late to do anything about it because that’s the will you’ve got and if it’s invalid, it’s as if the Will doesn’t exist and effectively you don’t have a Will.

Then, the whole situation that you’re trying to avoid by putting a Will in place i.e. avoid troubles for your family, avoid family arguments and stress and upset, without a Will or an incorrect Will or an invalid Will or a will that doesn’t do what you want it to do, that’s precisely the situation you’re in, or at least that’s the situation your family is in.

Using a Solicitor avoids all of that. You have the reassurance, the comfort, the protection of using a Solicitor that you know the Will is right and valid.
Of course, even with a Solicitor mistakes can happen, but all Solicitors must be fully insured and that, again, is for your benefit and protection so if mistakes happen you’re covered by the Solicitor’s insurance. However, if you do it yourself or use a Will-Writing company that’s not fully insured and the will turns out to be wrong or invalid, you have no protection, no comeback If you make the Will yourself or use an unqualified or uninsured company, you won’t be covered if the Will is incorrect or invalid.

So, using a Solicitor may not be the cheapest option, but it is the safest, most reliable way to make your Will to make sure it is correct and valid and it gives you the most protection and peace of mind. So, it’s good value for money. Not to use a Solicitor in the long run may well be a false economy.
It comes down to this really- if you want something doing properly and well and to give your peace of mind and reassurance, always use an expert. So, for me, if something went wrong with my car, I’d go to a mechanic. If something went wrong with the electrics in the house, I’d go to an electrician.
It’s the same with legal matters. It’s technical, it’s more complex than you might realise, there’s much more to it to get it right so if you want it doing properly to give you peace of mind and protection, use a Solicitor. They will make the process for you straightforward, but to do it yourself you might find that it isn’t and that you don’t end up with what you want in terms of a valid, correct Will.

Now, you don’t have to use Leech & Co, but you should use a Solicitor. If you want to talk to us we’d be happy to talk to you about your Will and you can call us on 0161 749 9000 or have a look at our website for much more information – www.leechandco.co.uk – and you can contact us through the website. We’re more than happy to chat to you and talk things through with you and there’s no obligation to instruct us.
Thank you for listening and hopefully speak to you soon.

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Video Transcript:

Hi, this is Matt from Leech & Co Solicitors, just a short video about Wills, what’s involved in making a Will, how long the process takes and what it costs.

What’s involved in making a Will?

The first point, we would always say is use a Solicitor to make your Will. We are Solicitors so we would say that, but there are genuine reasons for that. The main one being to use a Solicitor to make your Will is that you have the benefit of the Solicitor’s skills, their experience, their training, their legal knowledge etc which is invaluable when making a Will. It’s more complicated that you’d think, there’s quite a lot involved, you have to make sure it’s right and make sure it’s right for you and the Solicitor has those skills. So, that’s why we’d say use a Solicitor and its not just for our benefit! It’s for your benefit as the client.
You need that reassurance that the Will has been done correctly, that when the Will is needed, it’s right, it’s valid and its going to work for you and your family.
So, I’ll do another video about why you should use a Solicitor, but that’s just the first point for this video.

So, what’s actually involved, what’s the process of making your Will?

Well, another advantage to using a Solicitor is that the Solicitor will make the process of making your Will straightforward for you using their skills and experience and so on. Each Solicitor will have a different process and their own way of doing things, but at Leech & Co we will always come to see you at your home or workplace so you never need to make an appointment at our office or take time out of your schedule or find time, we know everyone’s busy, so we will come to you at your home or workplace or wherever you’d like.
At the moment due to the Coronavirus, we’re quite limited, but if need us to come and see you, we will and we’ll find a safe way of doing that, but we’re doing a lot of interviews at the moment over the phone, on video-calls are carrying out most of our meetings with clients on the phone or by video call or whatever works for you.
When we do meet with you, either face-to-face or on the phone, we’ll sit down with you, talk to you, listen to you, get an idea of what you want and what you’re trying to do and we can then advise you and give you some ideas as to your options and choices i.e. this might be a good way to do things or this might be a better way of doing it than you’d thought etc. We can give you some knowledge you maybe didn’t have before and give you some more ideas as to what you can do.
Once we’ve discussed it and we’ve discussed the ideas, we’ll prepare a draft Will for you so you can have a look. Quite often when someone sees something written down they then have other ideas and want to change it and that’s fine, no problem. If you need more than one appointment, two, three, four appointments, that’s all fine, we’ll do what it takes to get your Will right.
So, once you’re happy with the final Will, we’ll draft it up, send you the final copy and come and see you to have it signed and witnessed. You’ve then got your final Will.

What happens after that? We will store it in our secure Will bank, keep an electronic copy on our file and provide you with a paper copy so it will be very easy to locate when it’s needed. The storage of your Will is free of charge, but there is an additional charge of £30.00 if you want to register your Will with Certainty National Will register, but this really is covering all bases.

So, how long does it take? If the Will is relatively straightforward, we would expect to have the final Will ready and with you within 2 – 3 weeks so from the first time you talk to us, 2 or 3 weeks later you’ll have your final Will. Obviously anything more complex that needs more meetings, more discussions or you just can’t fit it into your schedule to have the meetings it might take a little longer, but ideally all being well, 2 to 3 weeks from when you first talk to us

Crucial question, how much does it cost? Well, it’s difficult to be precise without talking to you first and finding out exactly what you need. The full price list is on our website so you can what we do and how much we charge for each different service, but to give you an idea we charge £175.00 plus VAT for a single, straightforward Will. However, we offer fixed fees whenever we can so it gives you certainty at the outset of the cost you’ll be paying at the end.
We also offer a discount if you refer your family and friends to us and if we can help them they get a 10% discount. We offer flexible payment terms so you can pay over a number of months we ca arrange that with agreement.
We also offer 20% discount off our fees for all NHS staff, carers, teachers, Police, members of the emergency services and armed forces, all Keyworkers and Foodbank Volunteers. Hopefully I’ve not missed anyone out, but Keyworkers is quite a broad group of people. We’re more than happy to give that discount to try and give something people to those people.

So, hopefully that gives you an idea of the process and what it involves. We can make it straightforward for you. So give us a call if you want to have a chat about making your Will or updating your Will, we’re more than happy to chat, there’s no obligation to instruct us – it’s 0161 749 9000 or contact us through the website www.leechandco.co.uk

Look forward to speaking to you soon and if we can help you, we’ll be more than happy to. Speak to you soon, thank you for listening.

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Video Transcript:

Hi, this is Matt from Leech & Co Solicitors with just a short video about Wills, about what they are, why you need one, what happens if you don’t have one and how you can get one.  There’s plenty more information on our website so have a look there, but this is just a short introduction to give you some ideas if you’re thinking about making a Will.

So, what is a Will?  Well, obviously it’s not the cheeriest of subjects, not a lot of people want to think about it or talk about it, but it is an essential part of any plan for the future.  It’s probably one of the most important documents you’ll make in your life.

It essentially deals with what happens to your property, savings, money, possessions after you’ve died.  It tells whoever’s dealing with your Estate who you want to inherit, who you don’t want to inherit and it’s the only want to do this.  So if you have ideas about what you want to do with your assets, a Will is the only way you can ensure that what happens is what you want.

If you have small children, your Will can deal with what you want to happen to them in terms of who looks after them, how they will be provided for, how they will be educated etc

So, a lot of people say, well, I don’t have a lot, I don’t have a big house, I don’t have many savings etc so I don’t need a Will.  Well, you still do because if you have an idea of what you want to happen to whatever you do have, a Will is the only way to ensure that happens.

If you don’t have a Will, it’s the law that decides who gets what you own,  So, there might be someone you want to inherit and they may not inherit anything and there might be someone you don’t want to inherit and they inherit the lot.  Obviously, in that situation, you’ve wanted to look after your family and make sure they’re OK, but it’s the law that dictates what happens and it might not be what you want.  This can cause family arguments and fall outs, general upset and stress at what is already an upsetting and stressful time.

So, really, a Will is a way of protecting your family after you’ve gone, making sure what you want to happen happens and avoiding family stress, arguments and upset.  It’s a vital document and we would recommend that everyone has one.

Now, a Solicitor can help you do this, they can make the process straightforward, quick ad easy and affordable.  Obviously, you don’t have to instruct Leech & Co, but if you want to have a chat, call us and we can talk it through and see what we can do for you.  So, give us a call, we’d be more than happy to talk to you, with no obligation, the number’s 0161 749 9000 or contact us through the website www.leechandco.co.uk and we can see what we can do for you or at least just have a chat and give you some ideas.

So, look forward to hearing from you, thank you for listening.

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