Straight Talk Financial Planning

will writing

Getting around to it

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How often have you thought about writing your Will, known you need to write it, but then somehow it just doesn’t happen? Well you’re far from alone.

Straight Talk expanded their services to include Estate planning services like Will writing some years ago. Our aim was to accommodate clients in need of these services who simply struggled to fit time to visit a solicitor into their already busy working schedules. This can be especially challenging for working couples. We can offer out of working hours appointments in your own home.

It’s also common for people to have a sense of unease when it comes to will writing. It’s understandable that addressing your own mortality doesn’t come high on most people’s lists of fun ways to pass an hour or so, but the sense of relief all of our clients feel once everything has been put in order far outweighs their concerns at the start of the process. As one client told us recently

“We were both very worried about doing a Will – don’t know why, but you put us both at ease, and we very happy with what we decided.”

Its also important to have confidence in the services you are being provided with. Straight Talk offer free consultations which allow you to meet with us and be sure of us before committing to work. This is also a useful service for anyone who already has a Will in place and wishes to review it with an expert to ensure it still meets their needs.

Its all about timing…

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One of the most common questions I encounter is When should I write my will? And how often should I review it?


The will writing triggers are not age, but the big life events – the purchase of your first home, the birth of your child, blending your family and assets with a new partner’s (especially if you’re not planning to marry), or any other significant event that might impact on the way you think about your finances or guardianship of young children.


And what about those who have wills already? Ideally you should look to review your wills every 5 years. That might sound like a lot, but its surprising how much can change in a short period of time. Effective estate planning should be intimately connected to your financial planning; up to date with the ever changing needs of your family and, for example, current tax legislation.


Expert guidance from an associate knowledgeable in finance as well as inheritance law can prove an invaluable resource to protect your assets. Straight Talk offer free initial consultations and charge fixed fees for any items you may need to produce, so there are never any nasty surprises.


You should also keep track of exactly what assets you have and how your executors can access them, when the time comes. A single simple resource of information that will give them everything you need to administer your estate with as much ease as possible. Straight Talk can help here too. We have a clear and simple to fill in booklet “What I have and where I keep it” that our clients fill in and keep. Anything that will simplify the process of probate for your loved ones can give real peace of mind for you and them.
Our free “What I have and Where I keep it” booklet can be ordered from the Contact page.

The Kindness of Exclusion

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I’m sure many professionals regularly encounter misconceptions about their industry, or field of expertise, and wills and probate work is no exception. We certainly encounter a few at Straight Talk Estate Planning but some have more sticking power than others.

One of the more persistent misconceptions we encounter is that people exclude potential beneficiaries from their wills for negative reasons. Whilst, certainly, a significant falling out over a period of time can lead to exclusions, this is not always the driving reason.

There are situations where parents with multiple children have already given significant financial support to one child over and above the others so, with the child in question’s blessing, exclude them from receiving further in the will so that the remaining children may benefit from the family estate equally.

Similarly a family may mutually agree that some potential beneficiaries may have more means to outside financial support than others. Better paid work for example, or marriage into other more wealthy families, and there is a wish to ensure the estate will pass to those that need it most.

Decisions like these are made out of practicality and kindness and are the sort of considerations that would be railroaded by the process of intestacy (passing without a valid Will in place).

Similarly circumstances can change over time which would mean you need to review your will with regard to exclusions. Perhaps that wealthy family a child has married in to falls unexpectedly on hard times so they need to be brought back in to the will, for example.

Whatever the reason, if there are people who may reasonably expect to benefit from your estate and you would wish them not too, a valid and up-to date will is a must.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of APS Legal and Associates Ltd itself