Making a will

Yorky

A few questions about making a will:

Is it straightforward to make your own will and if so are there any downloadable guides/templates?

How many executors does a will need to have and does one of them need to be a solicitor?

What is the procedure for making a will to supercede a previous will? The change required is removing the solicitor as an executor.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

McCrack

I'd suggest you read the Succession Act 1965 available on Irishstatutebook.ie, it will answer your questions and more.

You will easily find a solicitor that will draft your will free of charge. It will be done professionally.

Yorky

Having examined the will, the first paragraph is made up with the following text:

1) I desire that [name of solicitor] or the firm which at the date of my death has succeeded to and carries on their practice shall be employed as solicitors in proving my Will.

My reading of that is the solicitor is not an Executor and a subsequent paragraph goes on to name the Executor.

Is this the most cost effective way of writing a will i.e. is the solicitor entitlesd to charge an exorbitant fee 'in proving my will' ?

trishasaffron

Crikey! that precedent you have is a bit weird. Listen - drafting wills is something that you do need advice on. Having dealt with numerous home made wills (not any more so no conflict of interest) almost all had serious gaps, failings etc etc.....

For the record only one executor is needed - but there are lots of other conisderations even in appointing an executor so do yourself and your descendents a favour and get professional advice. A solicitor will charge about 100-150 euro + VAT for a standard type will - more if you have a complex situation e.g. separation/divorce etc.

grumpytrousers

what trisha said. penny wise and pound foolish, those homemade wills. If you balls it up, there's a risk that the entirety of the will is flawed and you then die intestate with none of your wishes being followed.

If your estate is worth enough that you need to make a will, then isn't a few bob getting it done right the least you can do? Most solicitors will do it for free anyway, on the understanding that they'll end up administering the estate in years to come.

Quaver

OP, McCrack is right. You can do it yourself by following the rules in the Succession Act, but just get it done professionally. If your usual Solicitor won't do it for free, just find another that will! It's fairly commonplace to do it for free, as the likelihood is that the office will then deal with the Probate after you die, although this does not have to be the case.

btw, that paragraph about specifying that the firm proves your will is mental. I've never come across anything like that, and unfortunately I've seen a lot of wills!