Wills

Step 1: You will meet with one of our Private Client Solicitors, who will take your instructions for your Will, note the details of your proposed Executors and Beneficiaries (including full names and addresses) and discuss with you your particular circumstances and any provisions you might wish to consider including in your Will.

Step 2: We will draft documents for you as instructed and send them, together with our Letter of Engagement and Terms of Business, to you as soon as they are ready. We aim to have these to you within a week of our first meeting.

If you are a new client, or these are your first instructions to us for some time, and we have to carry out an identity verification process, we cannot proceed with any work until the process has been completed. If we have to wait for ID from you, this may delay us getting the draft documents to you.

Step 3: Once you have reviewed the draft documents and contacted us to confirm you are happy with them, or to advise of any outstanding information or instructions, we will prepare final versions of your documents for signing and arrange a meeting with you to sign them.

Once you have signed the documents, we will obtain any outstanding signatures, for example from any remote witnesses. This may take a week or so, depending on the post.

Step 4: We will place your completed Will in our secure records storage and send a copy to you. At this stage we will also issue our fee note for the work that has been carried out if it has not already been sent to you.

You can also put a Power of Attorney in place at the same time as your Will. See the separate Power of Attorney section for details of the process and timings, which can happen concurrently with your Will.  

Our Wills service normally involves two meetings and any necessary correspondence outside of the meetings. The length of time to complete the work may be affected by availability for meetings and the time taken by correspondence, as well as how quickly we receive your instructions.

Many Wills can be completed within a month or less.

We offer fixed fee services for both basic and complex Wills, and Powers of Attorney.

A basic Will could involve the appointment of Executors, setting out a few legacies for items such as jewellery, a car or a bank account and then provisions regarding what is to happen to the rest of your estate and for your children, including the appointment of guardians if you have children aged under 16.

A complex Will might be one where there are many legacies, to numerous beneficiaries, or trust provisions required, such as a Liferent or Discretionary Trust.

The type of Will you require will be discussed and confirmed with you at our first meeting.

Fixed fee services from:

All fees are subject to VAT, which is currently charged at a rate of 20%.

We will provide an estimate of our fee for the preparation of your Will, and Power of Attorney if also instructed, at our first meeting or over the telephone.

Hourly rates: For other Private Client services, such as Inheritance Tax or Care Home planning advice, if we charge on a time basis rather than an agreed fixed fee, the hourly rates for our specialist Private Client team are as follows:

We always ensure that the work will be carried out by a team member at a level appropriate for the complexity of the matter and will give you an indication of the anticipated costs at the start of the process.

Additional costs: There are not usually any third-party costs payable when dealing with a Will or Codicil. However:

• If we meet with a client in their own home, or in a residential, nursing or care home, hospice or hospital, there may be an additional cost of £135 plus VAT per visit.
• If you instruct us to prepare a Power of Attorney for you at the same time as your Will, then you will need to pay an Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) registration fee: currently £96 per document.
• If an Evacuation of a Survivorship Destination is required, there is:
• A separate fee payable for the preparation and registration of the Deed. This work may be handled by our Property Team
• A fee payable for the registration of the signed deed at the Registers of Scotland: currently £80

Everyone’s situation and family circumstances are different, so it is important to get the right advice for you when it comes to making your Will. Our experienced Private Client team can advise you on all aspects of making a Will, working with you to ensure the Will is right for you, and can also set up Power of Attorney for you at the same time.