Advice on making a will - solicitor wants access to bank details ?

[mpn]

Hi guys, im after a little advice with regards to making a will. My father in law has cancer and is going about getting things in order, he is making a will and the solicitor has asked him for all of his bank account information, account numbers etc. As i know nothing about this type of thing im just wondering if this is normal practice. He never went to an actual firm of solicitors, its just a guy who goes into the local social club and offers legal advice to oap"s, i have no idea which firm he actually works for. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[IAN P]

Instead of relying on a guy who comes into your pub,I would locate a Citizens Advice Bureau and ask.Their advice is free and the staff are knowledgeable.

Avoid the guy in the pub.

 

[Bobdk]

I am not as old as your father but when I made a will there was no mention of bank account details other than what branches I had money in. I would not use this guy in the pub, he might be genuine but he sounds a bit dodgy to me.

 

[kopchoir]

Have no advice mark,
but sorry to hear your Father in law is not so well
Si

 

[mpn]

Cheers guys, i have the guys number and im gonna ring him tomorrow to find out exactly what details he needs access to and why. Apparently he often goes into the club on a tuesday night,(pensioners night), and offers legal advice and his services. To be honest when my father in law told me this i was very dubious, but figured he was old enough to make his own decisions. But when he mentioned this to me earlier i was a little suspicious. Thanks guys.

And thanks for the kind words Si, .

 

[Kieron]

Would a "will pack" from WHSmiths not suffice?

Solicitors and wills = big money upon passing. They administer the estate and take their cut. When our Dad passed it was nearly 4 thousand pounds......

 

[Abbeygoo]

Mpn

This sounds a touch strange, especially the need for bank account numbers. As far as I understand it, you don't really need to mention in your will where your savings are, its not legally required for the will to be valid and / or for the beneficiaries to receive their inheritance.

Of course, it may well be good practice for your Dad to let you know (in a separate confidential letter) where all his bits are but I certainly don't think he needs that information in his will.

I would ask the guy what his credentials are. As the number of people without a will is quite high, recently I have experienced an increase in the number of people setting up their own will writing business - put simply, the people who approach you do not have any legal qualifications and are definitely not solictiors, they simply take instructions and send these off to a will writing company who then post the completed will for signing and witnessing. The chap you speak of could be doing this, nothing wrong at all with this way of writing a will but he may well simply be mistaken as to the level of information needed on a will. Hopefully, there is a simple explanation.

Good luck with everything at this stressful time.

 

[Cyland101]

We recently had a will draw up for us by a local solicitors firm. Think it cost around £120, which I don't think is that much. Having said that, they didn't do a lot for the money.

Never got asked for any bank details, only think we were asked was what out total worth was, and that was only for inheritance planning.

 

[Duncan G]

MPN.

you might want to discuss with your dad about you getting the power of attorney so that you can deal with his finacial affairs if he gets too ill to do so.

Details here;

Managing your affairs and lasting power of attorney : Directgov - Over 50s

 

[Deleted member 173019]

Mark Mate, My wife and I made our will last year after the baby arrived. We were not asked for any personal details like that, but we were asked what the payout of any insurance policies would be so the money could be shared out fairly (knowing that we'd get £XX if we both passed on, but Baby survived etc).

I use a Solicitor in Guisborough who's been used by my family and my wife's family for a fair few years now and he's great, friendly and seems to be genuine.

He also offers free storage of the will (which some places charge for) and best of all he's quick (got ours done in one week before we got on a plane....lol).

If you want his details just drop me a line.

Rich

 

[mpn]

Mark Mate, My wife and I made our will last year after the baby arrived. We were not asked for any personal details like that, but we were asked what the payout of any insurance policies would be so the money could be shared out fairly (knowing that we'd get £XX if we both passed on, but Baby survived etc).

I use a Solicitor in Guisborough who's been used by my family and my wife's family for a fair few years now and he's great, friendly and seems to be genuine.

He also offers free storage of the will (which some places charge for) and best of all he's quick (got ours done in one week before we got on a plane....lol).

If you want his details just drop me a line.

Rich

I will do Rich, thanks. Im waiting for him to call me back as i left him a message regarding my concerns. If i understand it correctly there should be no need for account numbers to be given, only the name of any banks where accounts are held. I have advised him to open a new acc and transfer the money whilst he is still able to do so. It just all seems a little iffy to me.