The Money-Saving Expert took an emotional turn on his recent podcast as he urged people to make moves on their will and inheritance planning to avoid ‘pain’ for their loved ones after their death. On the Martin Lewis Podcast, the finance guru explained that drafting this legally binding document also doesn’t have to break the bank.
The conversation was sparked by a caller, Sarah, who explained her blended family left her worried about what may happen if she or her husband died. She explained: “I have two children from a former marriage, my husband has one son from a former marriage. He thinks we could just do a quickie free will, I think we have to do something a bit more involved due to the complexity of our situation.”
Martin agreed with Sarah, admitting that the “more complicated” a person’s family situation is the more likely they should look for a solicitor-drafted will which he described as the “gold standard” of wills. However, he was also cautious of the listeners who may also assume gold standard means top-tier pricing.
He assured: “Solicitor-drafted wills don’t have to be that expensive. There are two schemes during the year where you can either do it for free or for a £100 donation. Will Aid, which takes place in November and Free Wills Month which, confusingly, takes place twice a year in March and October. Whether you’re a March or October depends where you live in the country.”
While wills are usually just out of the MSE founder’s realm of expertise, he shared some more cost-cutting ways to get a good document drafted: “You might be a member of a trade union in which case you could be able to get a free will. There are free wills that are offered, solicitor drafted wills these are, offered by some charities.”
He noted that there’s some free online options that are checked over by solicitors, although not necessarily solicitor-drafted, as well as plenty of “low-cost hybrids” like Co-op Legal Services.
Turning back to Sarah’s situation specifically, Martin encouraged: “In the situation where you’ve got children from a previous relationship, I think it’s worth making sure you get it right. The pain after someone’s passed away when the will is wrong is difficult. If you haven’t got very much to leave then it isn’t much of a big deal.”