Making a Will Legal Without Solicitor

thebuzz

Hi, I'm just wondering what's the best way of drawing up a will yourself to ensure it's legal and binding without the need to involve a solicitor? I don't mind paying a small fee to a solicitor for drawing it up but it's their costs for dividing up the estate after the person has deceased that people are left with that I have a problem with.

I would like to just draw one up myself but how do I ensure it's accurate? Is it complicated?

seamus

Making a legal will is pretty straightforward and doesn't require a solicitor. Information here:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/before_a_death/making_a_will.html

There are a couple of sites online that can guide you through producing a will and then let you download it for signing.

On the matter of not needing a solicitor to handle the division of your estate, unfortunately that's kind of out of your hands. There is a specific legal process that must be run through to legally divvy up the estate, called probate. It doesn't require a solicitor, but your executor may choose to engage one to assist them. You have no control over that really.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/death/the_deceaseds_estate/dealing_with_the_deceaseds_estate.html

However, if your will isn't at all complicated and your executor is the kind of person who can handle this kind of thing, then it shouldn't be a problem.

MarkAnthony

The main issues with DIY wills is the potential for them to be invalid. IIRC it's got much better over the years but there are still a few pit falls. That said getting a form from Easons and doing EXACTLY what it tells you to do with no errors, writing in the margin etc. should work. That said standard wills are so generally very cheap so it's probably worth getting it done professionally.

The witnessing is the biggest gotcha.

huskerdu

I will reiterate what has been said.

Using a solictor to draw up a will does mean that the executor of your will, has to use that solicitor or any other solicitor to help them srot out probate.

They will decide whether it is required or not.

A properly made out will, made with proper legal advice, might reduce the chances that they need a solicitor.

Pat Mustard

thebuzz wrote: »

I don't mind paying a small fee to a solicitor for drawing it up but it's their costs for dividing up the estate after the person has deceased that people are left with that I have a problem with.

These are two separate things.

The cost of a will may be €100

The cost of High Court litigation is tens of thousands of euro per day for one party, without taking into account the costs of other parties to an action.

Prevention is cheaper than cure.

coylemj

thebuzz wrote: »

Hi, I'm just wondering what's the best way of drawing up a will yourself to ensure it's legal and binding without the need to involve a solicitor? I don't mind paying a small fee to a solicitor for drawing it up but it's their costs for dividing up the estate after the person has deceased that people are left with that I have a problem with.

As others have pointed out, the two are completely separate processes. From what you have said, you should go to a solicitor and make a will. What happens after you die in terms of the administration of your estate will be for others to decide.

Your reluctance to use a solicitor because of possible high probate fees suggests that you may have come across a situation where someone passed away and the family discovered that the solicitor who drew up the will included a clause whereby the (now deceased) person making the will directed that the same solicitor be used to administer the estate after their death. This is completely non-binding on the executor(s) and can be ignored. I was named as executor on the estate of an aunt of mine and I found such a clause in her will, I quickly discovered that it counted for nothing so I did the probate myself and in the process saved several thousand euros.

NUTLEY BOY

The primary requirements of a will are that :

1. It should reflect accurately the wishes of the testator and
2. It should be legally valid - so that it can be enforced.

Legal validity extends to both the formal structural correctness of the will and the validity of the bequests within the will.

It is not sensible or safe to use DIY wills as that method completely circumvents the benefits of professional legal advice which would often avoid the potential problems which can and do arise.

Once death occurs the executor does not have to retain the solicitor who drafted the will or any other solicitor to process the probate procedure. If a will and the estate are relatively uncomplicated an executor who is good at accurate paperwork can apply quite comfortably for a Grant of Probate using the personal applicant system.

aierlan1000

You can still get the solicitor to draft the will and it's up to the executors to decide if they want to use a solicitor to administer the estate when you die. The executors don't have to use the same solicitor or indeed any solicitor. Also, shop around for quotes if you are unsure but I wouldn't recommend making the will yourself. Not worth the worry and expense if it goes wrong.

4ensic15

A DIY will is the ultimate false economy. Following an exact template is no guarantee something will not go wrong. If there are instructions given to a solicitor and he gets it wrong he can be sued. He has professional indemnity insurance. DIY means there is no insurance.
Solicitors also suggest things that the testator hasn't thought about or considered but realises are essential.
I saw a situation a few years ago where 2 daughters of a woman lost their sahre of an inheritance because their husbands had been witnesses to the will. The will was not drawn up by a solicitor, nor was the supervision of the making of it.

Spanish Eyes

4ensic15 wrote: »

A DIY will is the ultimate false economy. Following an exact template is no guarantee something will not go wrong. If there are instructions given to a solicitor and he gets it wrong he can be sued. He has professional indemnity insurance. DIY means there is no insurance.
Solicitors also suggest things that the testator hasn't thought about or considered but realises are essential.
I saw a situation a few years ago where 2 daughters of a woman lost their sahre of an inheritance because their husbands had been witnesses to the will. The will was not drawn up by a solicitor, nor was the supervision of the making of it.

Why was that? Surely would only have been a problem if the witnesses were the beneficiaries?

Is there something I am missing here? Maybe I am, would love to know.

P. Breathnach

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Why was that? Surely would only have been a problem if the witnesses were the beneficiaries?

Is there something I am missing here? Maybe I am, would love to know.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1965/act/27/section/82/enacted/en/html#sec82

Spanish Eyes

P. Breathnach wrote: »

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1965/act/27/section/82/enacted/en/html#sec82

Thanks for the information. Something I didn't know about. Just shows how careful you have to be.

4ensic15

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

Thanks for the information. Something I didn't know about. Just shows how careful you have to be.

That is only one example of a pitfall which could have been avoided by hiring a solicitor. Others I have seen include ambiguous naming of beneficiaries.
Does "my house to Tom & Mary" mean the house goes to my son Tom and my daughter Mary or to my son Tom and Tom's wife Mary?