Make a Will

To get started, we’ll take time to understand your personal circumstances, family structure and financial position.

This includes the information we need to draft your Will correctly and to spot any issues that may affect your wishes, such as who you want to inherit, who you want to act as executor, and whether any Trusts or inheritance tax planning should be considered.

In your initial discussion, we’ll typically ask you for details of your assets and liabilities, your beneficiaries and their relationships to you, and any existing Wills or estate planning documents. 

We’ll also cover key dates and relevant family circumstances so we can make sure your Will is tailored to your needs and drafted with confidence.

We'll discuss your assets, including property, investments, pensions, business interests and agricultural assets, together with any liabilities or existing trusts.

Where appropriate, we'll advise on inheritance tax planning, Trusts, succession planning and other measures that can help protect your estate and your money, and maximise the value passed to future generations.

Your solicitor prepares a bespoke Will that accurately reflects your wishes while ensuring it complies with all legal requirements.

You'll have the opportunity to review the draft carefully, ask questions, check key details, and make any amendments before signing.

Once approved, we'll supervise the signing of your Will to ensure it is legally valid. Before you sign, we will ask you to check the final document carefully so it reflects your wishes and remains legally valid.  

We can also securely store your original Will and advise about registering with the National Will Register (Certainty).

Inheritance Tax can significantly reduce the value of an estate if appropriate planning isn't undertaken.

We advise on available exemptions and reliefs to help preserve more of your wealth for your beneficiaries.

Our Inheritance Tax Planning Service

Business Property Relief and can provide substantial tax advantages, but only where the correct planning has been undertaken.

We advise business owners and farming families on succession planning that protects both their livelihood and their legacy.

Trusts can be incorporated into your Will to protect assets, provide flexibility and safeguard beneficiaries who may be too young or otherwise unable to manage an inheritance.

Trusts are commonly used to:

• Protect vulnerable beneficiaries
• Preserve family wealth
• Provide for children from previous relationships
• Protect assets following remarriage
• Improve inheritance tax efficiency
• Help protect against future care fees

Our Trusts Service

If you have children under 18, your Will allows you to appoint guardians who would care for them should both parents die.

Without a Will, this important decision may ultimately be left to the courts.

Choosing the right executors and trustees is essential.

These individuals will be responsible for administering your estate and carrying out your wishes.

We can advise on who should be appointed and whether professional executors may be appropriate.

You should review your Will whenever your circumstances change, including after:

• marriage or civil partnership
• divorce or separation
• the birth or adoption of children
• purchasing or selling property
• starting or selling a business
• receiving an inheritance
• retirement

Even if nothing changes, reviewing your Will every three to five years is recommended.

A Will is a legal document that sets out how your estate should be distributed after your death.

It also enables you to appoint executors, nominate guardians for children under 18 and include trusts to protect your beneficiaries.

If you die without a valid Will, your estate will be distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy, which may not reflect your wishes or provide for everyone you would like to benefit.

Every adult should consider making a Will, regardless of the size of their estate.

A common misconception is that Wills are only necessary for wealthy individuals. In reality, anyone who owns assets or has people they wish to protect should have a Will in place.

Making a Will is particularly important if you:

• Own your home
• have children or grandchildren
• are married or in a civil partnership
• live with an unmarried partner
• have children from previous relationships
• own a business or farming enterprise
• hold investment or rental properties
• want to minimise inheritance taX
• wish to support charities or other causes
• have vulnerable family members who may require additional protection

Even if you already have a Will, it should be reviewed regularly to ensure it continues to reflect your circumstances and current legislation.

Yes, a Will is only one part of an effective estate plan.

Depending on your circumstances, you may also benefit from putting in place:

• Lasting Powers of Attorney, allowing trusted individuals to make decisions on your behalf if you lose mental capacity.
• Trusts, to protect family wealth and provide greater flexibility for future generations.
• Lifetime inheritance tax planning, helping to reduce the value of your taxable estate.
• Succession planning, ensuring family businesses and agricultural assets pass smoothly to the next generation.
• Probate and estate administration advice, giving your executors practical support when the time comes.

By considering these issues together, you can create a comprehensive estate plan that protects both your assets and the people who matter most.

If you die without a valid Will, your estate will be distributed under the Rules of Intestacy.

These rules do not always reflect modern family arrangements and may exclude unmarried partners, stepchildren, close friends and charities.

Making a Will ensures your estate is distributed according to your wishes.

1. We will ask you to complete our Will Questionnaire.
2. Then we will meet with you in person (this can also be done virtually via FaceTime, Zoom or another platform) to discuss your needs and our proposals in more detail including advice on Inheritance Tax and estate planning.
3. We will open your file, record your instructions and our advice, as well as documenting issues such as mental capacity and undue influence to reduce the possibility of your Will being challenged.
4. A draft Will will be sent for your approval with our advice. We ensure our Wills, so far as possible, are transparent and clear to read, but of course, we are happy to discuss any queries you may have.
5. A meeting will be arranged for us to complete a final review of your Will with you and to execute them. Once signed, we can store your Will and provide you with copies. We can also register your Will with the Law Society recommended Wills Register, Certainty.

The cost of preparing a Will depends on its complexity.

Simple Wills generally cost less than bespoke Wills involving trusts, inheritance tax planning or business succession advice.

At Myerson, we provide a clear quotation following an initial discussion, ensuring you understand the costs before any work begins, and we will confirm whether any free initial conversation is available.

We can also talk you through the likely cost upfront, help you check what is included in the service, and confirm whether any free initial call is available. 

The timescale depends on the complexity of your estate and how quickly instructions can be gathered.

For straightforward matters, a Will can often be prepared within a few weeks.

More complex estates involving trusts, business assets or inheritance tax planning may take longer to ensure every aspect is carefully considered.

If the matter is urgent and it is a deathbed will, then we will act on an urgent basis and can turn it around very quickly.

Farming assets can potentially qualify for Agricultural Property Relief (APR) at 100% for Inheritance Tax purposes. Farming assets usually make up the majority of an individual’s estate so using up the relief can save the family a substantial amount of Inheritance Tax. Leaving assets that qualify for APR to a surviving spouse is not always desirable. As time passes, it may become more difficult for the surviving spouse to actually farm which could lead to the assets no longer qualifying for APR and some or all of the exemption is wasted. 

To capture APR, it would be advisable to leave the agricultural assets to chargeable beneficiaries or into a trust if you need to make provision for multiple individuals. More importantly, the most common issue with farming assets is trying to achieve equality between family members. If the farm is the main asset and there is one child farming but the other children are not involved, it can be difficult to ensure the child who farms keeps their livelihood whilst the other children can inherit some of their parent's estate without having to sell and divide up the proceeds. As part of the planning, it is possible to put into place a more suitable structure for the farming business to separate the control and management of the farm with the value to allow all children to inherit.

You can make a Will yourself, and a DIY Will may seem like a cheaper option , especially if your situation feels straightforward and you want to save money.

However, when it comes to will writing, small errors in wording, signing or witnessing can create delays, uncertainty, or even invalidate parts of your Will. 

That can leave your family dealing with avoidable legal and financial problems at an already difficult time. In many cases, you need a solicitor for will writing when your estate includes factors such as property, children from previous relationships, business or agricultural assets, trusts, or inheritance tax planning.

A specialist Wills solicitor can also help you avoid common mistakes, including:

• unclear gifts that are difficult to interpret
• appointing the wrong executors or guardians
• failing to update your Will after major life events
• missing legal formalities required for validity
• not considering how inheritance tax may affect what your beneficiaries receive

A professionally drafted Will provides reassurance that your wishes have been clearly recorded, your estate is structured appropriately and your Will complies with the legal requirements for validity.

Specialist legal advice is particularly valuable if you:

• own a business or agricultural property
• have children from previous relationships
• want to protect vulnerable beneficiaries
• have overseas assets
• own multiple properties or investment portfolios
• are concerned about inheritance tax
• wish to include trusts within your Will

An experienced Wills solicitor can also identify opportunities to protect your estate, minimise tax liabilities and reduce the risk of future disputes.

While preparing your own Will may save money initially, the cost of correcting mistakes after your death can be far greater.

Seeking professional advice helps ensure your estate is administered as you intended and gives your family confidence during an already difficult time.

An executor can also be a beneficiary of a Will but a beneficiary should not act as a witness of the Will otherwise they will not be entitled to their inheritance under the Will (unless the Will is still valid without their signature).

A point to note is that an executor is usually also appointed as a trustee and if the Will contains a discretionary trust, there may be a conflict of interest as the executor/trustee may wish to exercise their discretion and appoint all the trust funds to themselves.

It is always prudent to consider carefully who should be appointed as executor/trustee and if possible to appoint more than one as trustees have to act unanimously.

Marriage usually revokes an existing Will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage.

Divorce does not invalidate your Will, but your former spouse is generally treated as having died before you, which can affect gifts, executorships and trusts.

It is always advisable to review your Will following any change in your marital status.

Mirror Wills are usually made by couples at the same time and the terms are virtually identical in that they “mirror” each other.

A typical example of a simple mirror Will would be a couple leaving everything to each other and then on the survivor’s death, the estate is split equally between their children. The advantage of this type of Will is that they are mostly straightforward and cost less than two bespoke Wills. However, simple mirror Wills can be changed by an individual at any time and this can be problematic if a couple has children from previous relationships and they agree to split the estate equally between both sets of children on second death but the survivor may fall out with the step-children and cut them out of the Will after the death of their parent. In these cases, mirror Wills with trusts may help.

Yes. Carefully drafted trusts can help protect family wealth while providing for loved ones.

Trusts are commonly used to:

• protect vulnerable beneficiaries
• preserve assets for future generations
• provide for children from previous relationships
• safeguard family wealth following remarriage
• improve inheritance tax efficiency

We'll advise on whether a trust is appropriate for your circumstances.

Unlike entering into a marriage or a civil partnership, entering into a Pre-Nuptial Agreement or a Post Nuptial Agreement will not revoke or cancel an existing Will.

It is recommended that parties should execute separate wills that are consistent with the provisions of the Agreement at the same time as entering into the Agreement to ensure that the provisions of your Will are at least as generous as the provisions in your Pre or Post Nuptial Agreement.

If not, then there is a risk that your spouse or civil partner will be able to bring a claim against your Estate after your death.

Your Pre-Nuptial Agreement can include a provision that you both agree to make Wills to reflect the terms of the Pre-Nuptial Agreement, but there is no binding obligation for either party to do so. 

In England and Wales, there is no requirement for a Will to be registered in order for it to be valid. However, registration does allow a greater chance of your Will being proved and for your intended beneficiaries to receive their inheritance. The national Wills register favoured by the Law Society is Certainty. Myerson is a member of Certainty and we can arrange for your Will to be registered once you have signed. The fee is currently £25 +VAT.

You should always keep your Will somewhere safe and advise your Executors where it is being kept. If you have made your Will with a solicitor, they will usually store your Will free of charge as part of the Will making process. Some individuals may prefer to store their own Will in a safe at home or with the bank in a deposit box. Care should be taken if you are storing your own Will as a missing Will could be construed as having been destroyed with the intention of the Will being revoked. It is possible to prove a copy of an original Will however, you will need to make an application to the probate registry with evidence to show that the Will was not cancelled.

When you marry, an existing Will is automatically cancelled. If you do not make a new Will after you marry, the rules of intestacy will apply which makes the assumption that at least the first part of your estate will pass to your new spouse (depending on the value and other members in your family). Quite often this is not the intended outcome as there may be children from a previous relationship that you would also like to make provision for. If you are getting married, you can put a Will in place in contemplation of marriage which will not be revoked by the marriage. Another thing to consider before you marry, especially if you have a larger estate, is a pre-nuptial agreement.

In England and Wales, the starting point is that an individual is free to leave their estate to whomever they wish. However, there are several grounds on which a Will can be challenged. The most common ones being under the Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependants Act 1975 where reasonable financial provision has not been made for a person who qualifies under the categories of persons to make a claim. In this case, you could leave a lesser sum with a no-contest clause which means they could forfeit their inheritance if they do challenge your Will. A statement setting out your reasons for excluding someone may also be helpful. Making sure that your Will is executed properly is also a good way to prevent your Will from being challenged as it is likely the person challenging will want the previous Will to take effect. 

Other grounds to contest a Will include the lack of mental capacity or undue influence. If a Will is made professionally by a qualified solicitor specialising in this area of law, they are going to insist on seeing you by yourself to remove any influences and will be conducting and recording their observations about your mental capacity. If there is any doubt, they may also suggest having a medical expert assess mental capacity. With today’s technology, it may also be advisable to record the Will signing to be used as evidence in the future.

In England and Wales, a testator is free to leave their estate to whomever they wish as a starting point. We do not have forced heirship rules however, certain categories of excluded persons may be able to make a claim against your estate under the Inheritance Provision for Family and Dependants Act 1975 if reasonable provision has not been made for them. 

If you wish to exclude someone from your Will, there are lots of ways to help prevent your Will from being challenged but this will depend on your individual circumstances.

A Will deals with the distribution of your estate on death but an LPA allows you to appoint a person(s) to make decisions about your financial and/or health whilst you are alive if you should lose mental capacity. The two do not crossover and therefore they are just as important as the other. If you have assets in your sole name, no one else will be able to access them unless you have legal authority in the form of an LPA and this should not be left until you have lost mental capacity as you will not be able to make an LPA and someone will have to apply to the court to be appointed as your deputy.  It is often more cost-effective to deal with your Will and LPA at the same time as some of the information is required for both documents.

Business and agricultural assets may qualify for valuable inheritance tax reliefs, including Business Property Relief (BPR) and Agricultural Property Relief (APR).

Our solicitors can advise on succession planning to help preserve these assets while ensuring they pass in accordance with your wishes.