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.
