Whether it’s out of worry or just having the time to finally focus on your ‘to-do’ list, many people are turning to lawyers to assist with their wills and life planning,
Cartridges Law is here to help despite the social distancing.
Why is social distancing such a problem with wills?
Currently, for a will to be valid, it must satisfy certain formalities under the Wills Act of 1837. One of these formalities is for the will to be signed by two witnesses who are present at the time of signing by the will-maker (testator/testatrix). To avoid legal complications in future, the witnesses must not be a potential beneficiary under the will or appointed as executor. Under current social distancing measures, especially for those in isolation at home or in hospital, this becomes very difficult.
What are wills in the wild?
We have developed our ‘Wills in the Wild’ set-up. This gives our clients a private way of executing their wills at-distance that a ‘will through a window’ may not be able to offer. What does this mean for our clients?
- We will set up your matter remotely by talking you through your options. You can talk to us by telephone, email or skype.
- We will draft your will on your behalf within 3 – 4 weeks.
- You will execute your will in the wild … and by wild we mean in our courtyard garden. Our garden gate will be open for you to just walk in and your paperwork will be laid out on a table ready for your arrival. We would ask that you bring your own pen with you. We will have two members of staff waiting behind our glass courtyard doors to witness the execution of your will. Once finished, you will leave the garden, our team will sign the will and we will retain the original for our file.
- Finally, we will ask if you would like a copy of the will for your own safe-keeping and the original will be held safely by our firm for the remainder of your life.
If you can’t make it to our office, we can make alternative arrangements – all you need to do is give us a call and we will talk you through the options.
Who are we?
Our Private Client team is led by Karyna Squibb, Head of the Private Client department, who is supported by Ros Davies and Jenna Street.
What do we do?
We can assist in giving you peace of mind with a variety of ‘life planning’ services. This may be assistance with drafting your Will, dealing with Probate, providing advice on Inheritance Tax Planning or information about Lasting Powers of Attorney and dealing with the Court of Protection.
For more information, contact us by email or telephone on 01392 256854.