Making a will was something I was considering doing anyway but with the Covid-19 pandemic, it was brought it more sharply into focus. I decided to do it through one of the free will services run by a charity. I was expecting to be treated with a great deal of sensitivity and professionalism but that didn’t turn out to be the case. You have to use the solicitor appointed by the charity and my one was a little devious and dishonest. I was pressured into having a Lasting Power of Attorney (which is quite expensive) and was also pressured into revealing how much was in my bank account. I realise that they might need to know if you have savings above a certain threshold in case it triggers inheritance tax but there was no need for anyone to know exactly how much was in my account. Also when the will was drawn up they had disregarded my instructions on appointing executors and made themselves co-executor whilst relegating one of my chosen executors to back up. I made a complaint and was given a refund but they refused to acknowledge that they had acted in any way improper and made it sound like they are doing me a favour. I’m now so exhausted by the whole experience that I’ve just let it go and so my executor and family will have to be put to extra inconvenience and have to have sign off from these solicitors before they can put my will through probate. All in all not a great experience.
Has anyone else tried one of these “free” will services and if so what were your experiences? I’m interested to hear.
What a terrible time you have had. I must admit that my husband and self used solicitors over 30 years ago, as I wanted to sort guardianship for our children if anything happened to us. We updated while I was undergoing treatment 12 years ago, and again about 4 years ago after my husband’s parents died. We were treated with courtesy, and our wills were kept very simple. We were charged £120 in total, and our children are joint executors. We spoke about LPA, but no pressure was put on us. I wonder what an ombudsman/ appropriate professional body would make of your experience?
Hi @Franko, I just recently did mine with McMillan. It was really straight forward and easy. It was free but you were able to leave a donation in your will which I did. You could add extra bits that incurred an extra cost depending on what you wanted. Might be worth having a look.
It was done through Irwin Mitchell. Have a look on McMillans website
Hi. I did mine through Macmillan too but it was a different firm of solicitors called McClures who have several offices around the country including London but are mainly based in Newcastle and Scotland. It was supposed to be as easy as yours but has caused me nothing but grief.
Sorry you have had this experience - the free will service is quite common now and various schemes are run through the year that are backed by different charities. Although the Will is free of charge to the client, the fees are then paid to the solicitors by the charity, albeit at a far lower fee than would normally be charged. A Will should ALWAYS reflect the wishes and instructions of the client, a Will should be sent in draft to you following your instructions and you can change that draft document as many times as you wish until it reflects your wishes accurately then a final original would be produced for you to sign. If that process did not happen you did not have a good service. You certainly should not have executors appointed that you did not instruct to be, especially if that is then firm preparing the Will, if you did not request that they be executors. Lasting Powers of Attorney - whilst extremely important and valuable documents for any of us - should only be taken out if you want one and anyone in a legal situation should obtain advice and be left with choices of action that can be taken which the client is then able to consider and decide what they want to do. If you did not get that service, again you did not get good legal help. It is possible to complain to either the Legal Ombudsman or The Solicitors Regulation Authority.
As you may gather in pre-shielding “normal” life I work in a legal office and I work in Wills and Probate - there is much value in using a local solicitor to you, with a good trusted high street reputation, who can meet with you and discuss exactly your requirements etc. Many use various charity free will services, so you can use that if you wish to. Do get your Will as you want it! All the best
Thanks. I guessed you were legally minded 
To be honest I’m so exhausted by the whole experience and I’ve got a will now which is my main worry so I’m probably going to let it go. Just words of warning to anyone else trying this way of doing it. Go with a high street solicitor…
Gosh @Franko I’m sorry you had a difficult time with the free-will service, that sounds stressful! I’m glad it’s sorted for you now.