Recently, I had a conversation with a kind lady who needed a Will and Power of Attorney. Her daughter had dissuaded her from seeking professional assistance, assuring her she could handle the task herself (Instant Red Flag).
The daughter's previous occupation was a consultant. She had never written a Will or LPA before.
Could I do her job with 100% accuracy within a few hours?
Do you think that she could learn to do mine in the same timeframe?
She was willing to gamble on her mother's house, life savings and possibly her inheritance.
General DIY is easy.
DIY injuries have increased by 47% due to the rise of DIY videos and online instructions.
Some of the DIY disasters tradespeople have been called out to fix:
DIY, online and unrealistically cheap Wills
According to estimates, 10,000 Wills are challenged every year, many more get settled out of court, and potentially even more have damaging errors that go unnoticed due to the low value of the estate. I have never seen a Will that deliberately states, "I would like to leave £24k to litigation lawyers and £60k to HMRC for tax." However, this is sometimes the unintended outcome.
2024 Case: In 2024, Nigel Smith passed away from a brain tumour, leaving his estate to his partner, Wendy Roberts. He had used an £19.99 online service, Nine Minute Wills, which unexpectedly named its parent company, MedEx Direct, as the executor with a 4% fee based on the estate's value.
This issue gained media attention when Roberts faced a £10,000 bill, along with legal fees, which the estate couldn’t cover. She believed Mr. Smith would have never agreed to such terms if they had been clearer. Mr Smith saved about £500 on his will, and it cost the family their home.
DIY LPAs
According to the Office of Public Guardian, 10,000 LPAs are rejected each month, and thousands more contain errors and unintended consequences that go unreported. 86% of enquiries we received in the last 12 months have a request that could have caused confusion and distress for families if left unchanged. There is a backlog of 100,000 cases for deputyship from the Court of Protection because LPAs were not registered accurately before they were needed.
So, do you feel lucky? And gamble your Health & Home.
Or will you call Fern Wills & LPAs, talk it through over coffee, and avoid the eight most common errors in Wills and the 41 most common mistakes in LPAs?