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Having a will, even a free homemade will is always better than nothing. Not only can you enjoy the peace of mind knowing that your wishes will be followed, but it also makes life that much easier for the people you leave behind. Your will is where you decide what happens to your assets, your home, or who looks after your children.
There are three main ways to prepare a will.
For free by yourself, online, or through a lawyer.
Even with all these options, nearly two-thirds of adults in the UK have not prepared a will.
The National Consumer Council found in a study that 42% of people who did not have a will knew they needed one but "hadn’t got around to it" yet. Other reasons included being unsure how to go about making a will or being reluctant or unable to pay the associated solicitor’s fees - which often run into hundreds of pounds.
The good news is that making a will doesn't need to be complicated, expensive and oh-so-put-off-able. There are two ways to write your will for free - via a free professional will, or a diy will, if you want expert support, but don't want to break the bank you can also write your will online.
There are several ways to get a professional will for free. Make sure you have double, triple checked before you start that there are no hidden costs. Check out some of the most common ways of getting a free professional will below:
Through your trade union or employer
Check whether yours offers a free will writing service.
With your home or car insurance’s legal cover
They tend to only offer simple wills, but these work well for the vast majority of people.
Via your favourite Charity in Free Wills Month
Lots of charities offer supporters the chance to write your will for free every March and October.
There is an option to leave a gift in a will to a charity and these can be a hugely important part of charities income, allowing them to continue their great work for generations to come.
Via Will Aid or Will Relief Scotland
Charities and solicitors partner up to offer free wills to anyone, of any age, in return for a affordable charitable donation.
Through other charity schemes
Some charities will offer free will services all year round as a way of thanking their supporters, and making it easier to leave gifts in wills.
Through the National Free Wills Network
A network of 131 charities and 800 solicitors (at the time of writing) offering free will-writing services to known supporters.
You can write your own will - although this isn't without complication. Wills have strict templates and guidelines that make them harder to challenge, if the wording is unclear or incorrect your wishes might not be followed.
That said, a will is better than no will - so if you're looking to have a go at doing it yourself you can use a will template: these can be found at your local post office, bank or in WHSmith.
Find out more about who can write a DIY will and the pros and cons of DIY wills here.
Online will writing services have made will writing more affordable and accessible.
Our online will service is only £90, and each will is reviewed by legal experts and comes with clear instructions on how to sign it and make it legally binding.
It is also free to update your will for a whole year after writing it, and only £10 per year after that.
If you want more support, without the price tag, this might just be the option for you.
You can get started free of charge today. You'll see it's not nearly as complicated as you might think.
