Are more DIY Wills being written?

Throughout the UK, Europe and indeed many parts of the world there is a fear of recession and what it might bring. Many people worry about how their standard of living might change and decline.

There can be a fear of job loss or even their house. With all that going on discretionary spending is falling rapidly.

Writing your Will is in the ‘discretionary purchase’ bracket. It can be made any time or never. Of course for many it is a sensible and desirable thing to do. It may even be seen as a rite of passage by some.

So perhaps it would not be surprising to hear that more people want cheap or free wills. That is my interpretation of internet search results.

The problem is that this sort of ‘product’ can be a big mistake for many.

Just picture the sad scenario where the £9.99 Post Office bargain DIY Will is discovered to be invalid or ineffective during the fallout period after the death of that person you love and care about.

Dying intestate because your money-saving DIY Will has not been signed correctly is a rotten epitaph.

In around a week I will be officially back in private practice as a barrister. There will be some changes on this site as a result but in the main the same services will be offer (and some additions such as court and tribunal representation).

There is also a new website which can be found here Corsham Barristers Chambers

Are DIY Wills safe?

People do DIY Wills in their droves and the simple reason is that they are cheap. I know people writing their own Will can get it wrong as I have seen it happen and I know it happens a lot due to general reporting of this issue.

Therefore we have lots of people doing something that puts them at risk of making a major lifetime mistake that can impact in a drastic way on the very people they want to protect by writing the Will in the first place.

I don’t think anyone like me writing an article is likely to be able to persuade many people to be more cautious as the sort of people who do DIY wills are probably not in the market to spend much money on having one professionally drawn up. So can someone intent on the budget route be persuaded to take one more important step towards having a proper valid Will. The answer is to have your DIY Will checked by a lawyer for validity.

Just imagine having spent an hour or two planning what exactly you are going to put in your Will and satisfied you have got it right, you get your witnesses in to witness you signing it but it doesn’t happen properly. the big question is do you realise that it has gone wrong?

The signing and witnessing bit of the Will (called the attestation) is a vital part of the process and if done incorrectly the will is not valid. Unfortunately a faulty attestation is the most common reason for the invalidity of a Will.

There is also another way to go with this lawyer check route which is to buy a DIY package or Will kit including the lawyer check. Look here on the Lawscape site for one such option http://lawscape.co.uk/do-it-yourself-wills

You can negotiate Terms and Conditions?

 
You may be buying a service such as graphic design, photography or a web site. Chances are you will be presented with a set of Terms and Conditions for you to check and sign. They may present as standard for the industry and there may be nothing that seems objectionable.
 

But if you are not careful you may be agreeing to buy nothing more than a licence to use the ‘product’ you have paid for. This may not be what you were expecting.
 

For example for websites you may be simply buying the right to use the website as presented with no right to alter it without paying the supplier to do it and perhaps no right to sell it. These sort of clauses do come up. For photography you probably will not be offered the IP Rights associated with the work done.
 

So a prudent purchaser should check the small print carefully and consider asking for something more favourable to be agreed.
 

If you are not sure what to look for, consider having a lawyer check of the terms and make suggestions for new clauses to give you a better outcome. If it a contract for bespoke work of any substance the supplier would be quite likely to accede to sensible suggestions that don’t affect their ongoing business.
 

Having a lawyer do this need not be an expensive service. Check out more about Terms & Conditions for your business on http//:lawscape.co.uk

Terms & Conditions for your business

You are probably familiar with the idea of “Terms and Conditions” being the basis of a contract between supplier and client or customer.  “Client” is typically used for provision of services whereas “Customer” is normally used when supplying goods.

Variations of terminology for Terms and Conditions are used.  Other names in general use include “Business Terms”, “Terms” and “Contract of Sale”. When a contract for sale is varied at the client’s request this is often referred to as a “Sales Agreement”.

The whole point of having Terms and Conditions is to regulate your business relationship with your client. This is beneficial for your business and serves to clearly inform your client of the basis of your contract.

If you do business without any formal terms and conditions you risk being drawn into unnecessary dialogue about the basis of your contract with your client, that can harm your business relationship with the client and, sorry, it tends to look unprofessional.

If it gets as far as litigation the outcome is far less certain as evidence of what was said and written in the course of negotiating the deal will have be probed and the court will ‘supply’ the missing elements from legal principles.

Unfair Dismissal and other Employment law changes

Many employers are looking forward to an extension of the period of employment to 2 years before a claim for unfair dismissal can be mounted. Other measures that are being considered include a possible tougher procedure to weed out spurious claims and a ‘court fee’ for a disgruntled employee to register a claim.

However do bear in mind that this is not going to apply to anti-discrimination measures as outlined in the Equality Act and there are a large number of exceptions to the rule rquiring a qualifying period of employment that come within the ambit of Automatically Unfair Dismissals.

Sometimes employers feel a sense of protection because the basic right to claim unfair dismissal is not available to a given employee. This should not prevent any sensible and prudent employer from following all the normal rules and procedures.

It really does make sense to treat all employees on the same footing. Doing so helps in the process of ‘owning’ your discipline procedure. This can help to insulate you from making mistakes if you have some detail wrong that might allow a claim by another route such as wrongful dismissal which is a civil law remedy available for breach of contract.

Getting the whole process right is the best way and getting the process right is not so difficult if you have the right help. Lawscape can asisst with Employment Law compliance quickly, easily and a reasobable prices.

Attestation

Attestation is the term used for the signing and witnessing element of writing a valid Will.

In England a testator must sign his or her Will in the presence of two witnesses who then must each sign and note their address and occupation below the testator’s signature.

This process seems simple enough but faulty attestation is probably the single most common reason that Wills are invalid.

This is clearly not a particular risk when supervised during the attestation procedure or the attested Will is checked afterwards by a lawyer. This is a major weakness of DIY Wills that are not checked for correct attestation and as a result any fault is only found out when the DIY Will is put forward for probate.

Some people want to change their name. It can be to get a name they really like or to get rid of a name they don’t like, or to align ‘family names’.

In the UK this is a straightforward process really. There is actually no set down legal procedure to follow. You can just start using your new name and stop using the old one. You can change forenames, surnames or add more names – it is all possible. One thing you should not do is change your name to further some type of fraudulent or otherwise dishonest activity.

Whilst it is legally simple to change your name there are possible hiccoughs if you don’t adopt a recognised method of showing you have changed your name. The best way to ensure your name change is recognised in all circumstances ids to use a Deed Poll. This is the evidence of changing your name that is required to get a passport in your new name.

If you want to find out more about the best way to show you have changed your name check out the information here about Deed Polls : http://lawscape.co.uk/deed-poll-form

The Small Claims Court

The small claims court is not a separate court at all. In fact it is actually the small claims track of the county court and can be used for claims having a value of £5,000 or lower.

It can be used for recovering debts owed to you, claims for bad workmanship, when goods you have paid for are not supplied or claims based on the purchase of faulty goods.

The small claims track is less formal than a full county court hearing as it was set up to be used without the need to instruct a solicitor. Mind you sometimes it is very helpful to have some input from a qualified lawyer as you might find a better way of dealing with your claim e.g. the cheque rule.

It is recommended that you exhaust all normal means of dealing with any dispute before you embark on this type of litigation so do treat going to the small claims court as a last resort not a first port of call.

Do bear in mind that the person or company you are pursuing has to be provided with a “Letter Before Action” stating the nature of your claim, giving a set period to pay before you commence any legal action.
Before you start any action have a think about how cost-effective making a claim will be. There will be a court fee to pay and if you do win your case you still might have problems getting the money due to you. It might be cheaper and a less time-consuming to ‘take the hit’ and write off smaller sums.

If you are considering making a claim you can get the requisite forms from your local county court, or online at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk There is a fair amount of guidance on how to make your claim available on the website too. Lawscape clients qualify for free informal help in relation to the merits and issues of taking or defending an action in the small claims court.

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Guardians in your Will?

Not the nicest of subjects but have you appointed a Guardian for your children in your Will?

The simple point is if your children were orphaned (perish the thought) and there is no Guardian appointed your children will come under the care of the local Social Services department’ until a court decides who should be appointed Guardian. This might take months.

In practical terms that would mean your child would be put with approved foster carers or a children’s home for as long as it takes to approve a willing family member or friend to look after the children. Unfortunately a grandparent of aunt cannot just step-in these days. Proper checks such as CRB Checks will be made before any child will be placed into the care of another person, even a close relation.

The best answer sort out your Will now and appoint a Guardian, or even two, perhaps with the second one as a reserve. This way you will have prepared for the worst and get the peace of mind of knowing you have made proper provisions for your children in your Will.