Enhanced testamentary-capacity Will | £500
When there is a genuine concern about whether a person can make a Will, the Standard Will service may not provide the level of review and supporting evidence that the circumstances require.
Fern’s Enhanced testamentary-capacity Will is a fixed-fee service for one person. It provides additional preparation time, a private instruction meeting, a fuller professional review and a formal written testamentary-capacity report.
The fixed fee is £500 and is paid in advance before the enhanced appointment. It is a complete enhanced Will service.
Preparing before the appointment
Fern will normally begin with a preliminary telephone or online discussion. This allows factual and administrative information to be gathered and typed up before the client meeting.
This may include names, addresses, dates of birth, family relationships, factual information about assets and details of existing documents.
This preparatory stage does not replace the private client meeting. Fern does not take the person’s substantive Will instructions or reach a testamentary-capacity conclusion during this preliminary information-gathering stage.
Relatives may help provide factual information, but they cannot decide who should inherit, provide the person’s Will instructions or answer questions on their behalf.
Payment and booking
Once Fern has confirmed that the enhanced route is appropriate, the £500 fee must be paid before the enhanced appointment takes place.
The Client Care Letter and Terms of Business explain the payment arrangements, cancellation rights and any request for Fern to begin preparatory work within an applicable cancellation period.
What the enhanced service includes
• Preparation of the working file using the factual information supplied beforehand.
• A longer private meeting with the person making the Will.
• Direct Will instructions obtained from that person in their own words.
• A fuller professional review of their understanding, wishes, choices and reasoning.
• Detailed contemporaneous attendance records.
• A formal written testamentary-capacity report.
• Preparation of the Will, draft review and signing support where Fern is satisfied that it can properly and safely proceed.
These matters are commonly time-sensitive. The £500 fee reflects the additional work, written evidence and professional responsibility involved, together with reasonable prioritisation where needed. Any proposed timetable will be confirmed in advance.
Three possible outcomes
After the enhanced appointment and review, Fern may:
• Be satisfied that it is appropriate to proceed with the Will.
• Conclude that it cannot safely proceed, in which case the Will work stops.
• Pause the matter and recommend independent specialist evidence before deciding whether the Will can proceed.
The advance payment is for the preparation, private instruction meeting, enhanced professional review and formal written report. It is not payment for a guaranteed conclusion.
Once the enhanced appointment has taken place and Fern has completed the enhanced review and report, the £500 payment is not refunded merely because Fern cannot safely proceed with the Will or recommends independent specialist evidence.
When independent specialist evidence may be needed
In some circumstances, obtaining an assessment from an independent healthcare professional first may be more appropriate. Their professional fee is separate from Fern’s fees.
A favourable specialist report does not automatically require Fern to proceed. Fern must still be independently satisfied that it can properly take the person’s instructions and prepare the Will.
Where independent specialist evidence is obtained first and Fern can then take ordinary Will instructions without carrying out its own enhanced review and report, the Standard Will fee would usually apply.
For a fuller explanation of the different starting routes and possible outcomes, read Making a Will when capacity is uncertain.
If you are unsure which service may be appropriate, contact Fern for a preliminary discussion.
