Do I need a lawyer to use this service to write a Will?

No. You can prepare your Will using our service by stepping through our 9 sections. At the end of this, you can download and print your Will.

 

Once you have downloaded and printed it, you should thoroughly read the document to make sure that it reflects your wishes. If you have any doubts about this, you can email us at [email protected] or you can submit a ticket through our support portal and we will be happy to help.

 

The final step is to sign the document in the presence of two witnesses. These can be any two adults who are not beneficiaries in the Will, nor should they have anything to gain from the contents of the Will (the spouse of a beneficiary is an unsuitable choice for a witness). There are no residency requirements or citizenship requirements of your witnesses. Next time you have friends over for dinner, you can tell them that you are going to sign your Will and you would like them to witness this signing.

All three of you sign the document, in each other's presence.

 

Once the document is signed and witnessed. It is a fully legal Last Will and Testament. You then just store it somewhere safe, in a place that is known and accessible to your Executor. At the appropriate time (after you have passed away), your Executor will present the document to the courts where it will be accepted as your Last Will and Testament, registered, and your Executor will be given the authority to act as your estate administrator.

 

Your Executor will be give a "grant of administration" from the courts which they will be able to present to the banks, or other financial institutions. This document will reassure the banks that they can release the assets to this person and that they have the authority to act on your behalf.

 

A bank will not accept the Last Will and Testament. They have no way of authenticating the document, or knowing whether there was a document written after the one presented. They would have no way of knowing if there was a challenge to the Will. The authenticity of the document is determined by the probate courts, and it is only the court issued "grant of administration" that is accepted by the banks.