Preparing for Free Wills Month: What to Bring and What to Think About

Free Wills Month gives people over 55 the chance to have a simple will written for free by a qualified solicitor. It’s an excellent opportunity, but turning up unprepared could mean missing important details or discovering your situation is more complex than the free service can handle.

A little preparation beforehand will help you make the most of your appointment and ensure nothing important gets overlooked.

Essential Documents You’ll Need

Your solicitor is legally required to verify your identity, so bring:

Photo identification such as a current passport or driving licence

Proof of address like a recent utility bill, bank statement, or council tax letter

Without these documents, your appointment won’t be able to proceed, so double-check you have them before you leave home.

Deciding Who Benefits from Your Will

The most important decision in any will is choosing your beneficiaries. For most people with straightforward situations, this means:

• Leaving everything to your spouse or partner
• Dividing your estate equally between your children if you’re single or widowed
• Making specific gifts to individuals or charities

If you have a more complicated family situation involving step-children, estranged relatives, or multiple marriages, your needs might be too complex for the free service. It’s better to know this upfront so you can plan accordingly.

Don’t forget guardians: If you have children under 18, you’ll need to decide who would care for them if both parents died. This is often one of the hardest decisions to make, but it’s crucial to include.

Making a Complete List of Your Assets

Your solicitor can only include assets you tell them about, so prepare a comprehensive list:

Property: Your home and any buy-to-let or holiday properties

Financial assets: Bank accounts, ISAs, investments, shares, and pension funds

Valuable possessions: Jewellery, artwork, collections, or anything worth passing on to specific people

Digital assets: These are easily forgotten but increasingly important. Include online bank accounts, cryptocurrency, loyalty card points, valuable photo collections, and even social media accounts with sentimental value

Having this information ready will help ensure nothing important gets missed and will make your appointment run more smoothly.

Choosing Your Executors

Executors are the people who will handle your affairs after you die. They’ll need to apply for probate, pay any debts and taxes, and distribute your estate according to your wishes.

Choose someone you trust to be organized, fair, and capable of handling what can be a complex process. This is usually a close family member or friend, though you can also appoint a professional like a solicitor.

Consider appointing two executors in case one is unable to act when the time comes. Make sure you ask them first though – being an executor is a significant responsibility.

Thinking About Charitable Gifts

While there’s no obligation to include charities in your will, remember that Free Wills Month is funded by charitable organizations. Even a modest gift can make a meaningful difference to causes you care about.

There’s also a potential tax advantage: if you leave 10% or more of your estate to charity, the inheritance tax rate on the remaining estate drops from 40% to 36%. This can result in significant savings for larger estates.

Questions to Ask Your Solicitor

Don’t hesitate to ask questions during your appointment. Consider asking about:

• What happens if your estate grows beyond the inheritance tax threshold
• Whether you might need to update your will in future
• How trusts work if you want to protect assets for grandchildren
• What occurs if one of your beneficiaries dies before you do

A good solicitor will welcome your questions and take time to explain anything you’re unsure about.

Preparation Checklist

Before your appointment, make sure you have:

• Valid photo ID and proof of address
• Complete list of beneficiaries and their details
• Comprehensive overview of all your assets and their approximate values
• Names and contact details of your chosen executors
• Guardian choices if you have children under 18
• Any questions you want to ask
• Information about any charitable gifts you’re considering

Making the Most of Your Appointment

Free Wills Month appointments are typically shorter than private consultations, so being well-prepared helps ensure everything gets covered properly.

If it turns out your situation is more complex than the free service can handle, don’t see this as a problem. You’ll have received professional advice about what’s needed, and you can make an informed decision about next steps.

The most important thing is getting your will sorted properly, whether that’s through Free Wills Month or by investing in more comprehensive legal services.

Remember, having any professionally written will is far better than having no will at all. Even if your current situation seems complicated, Free Wills Month might still be able to help with the basics, which you can always update later if your circumstances change.