Wills - Getting It Right!

We have previously on the firm’s blog warned about the dangers of unqualified will writers and will writing firms. We have in the last month had to give advice in relation to two estates that involved almost identical defective wills. Although the wills were very similar, they had been prepared by separate will writing companies. 
Both wills involved a married couple whose main asset was their home, a very common situation. Very often a concern is that on the first death the survivor inherits all the joint assets and if the survivor then has to go into residential care owning all of the joint assets. The result is that (subject to allowances) all the assets then go towards residential care changes.
One of the ways (there are others) to mitigate this risk is to make the ownership of the house as tenants in common which means that both own 50% of the value coupled with wills whereby the first to die leaves his or her 50% to, usually, children (possibly other beneficiaries or into a discretionary trust) subject to the survivor having the right to live in the house rent free for life. The result of this is that if, after the first death, the survivor has to go into residential home, only his or her 50% interest in the house is available to pay care charges with the other 50% having already passed to the ultimate beneficiaries. (There are separate Inheritance Tax considerations but for most couples that isn’t an issue).
The estates recently consider had the property ownership correctly converted into tenants in common. The wills then gave the survivor the right to occupy the house for life free of rent, which again was correct. They then failed by leaving the entire estate including the 50% share in the house, to the survivor. Clearly the will writer didn’t understand what was intended to be achieved. The result was that the whole value of the house passed to the survivor and was taken into account on means testing.
Both will writing companies no longer exist and there is no professional body or insurer to remedy the loss. To rub salt into the wound, the fees charged were about four times what a high street firm of solicitors would charge.
The message is to take care with and be wary of any cold caller. If introduced by a friend was it a case of a fee reduction to the friend for the introduction or otherwise originally cold calling the friend. Take extra care if the caller does not have a recognised qualification.
If the circumstances outlined above are familiar you might ask a solicitor to look over any will prepared.