Wills

Many people believe they only need a Will if they have substantial assets or are later in life. In reality, anyone over the age of 18 who has the required mental capacity should consider making a Will.

Equally important is reviewing your existing Will whenever your circumstances change. Situations that may require a new Will or an update include:

• Getting married
• Having children
• Getting divorced
• Changing your name
• Purchasing a property
• An Executor becoming unable, unwilling or unsuitable to act
• Selling or disposing of assets referred to within your existing Will
• A significant increase in the value of your estate
• Acquiring assets in another country or making or amending a foreign Will
• Wishing to revoke or amend clauses within your current Will

Keeping your Will under review helps ensure that it continues to reflect your wishes and protects those closest to you.

A professionally drafted Will provides certainty.

It enables you to:

• Choose who inherits your estate
• Appoint Executors to administer your estate
• Decide how your estate should be divided
• Leave specific gifts to individuals
• Name guardians for children where appropriate
• Include funeral wishes to help guide your loved ones

If someone dies without a Will, they are considered to have died intestate. In these circumstances, there is a legal process to determine who can apply for Letters of Administration and who inherits the estate. The outcome depends upon which family members survive them at the date of death and may not reflect what they would have chosen themselves.

Having a Will in place can therefore provide greater certainty for both you and your family.

At Jefferies, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to Will Writing.

We recognise that every family and every estate is different, which is why every instruction meeting is tailored to the individual client. We take the time to discuss your circumstances in detail, explain the options available and ensure you understand the implications of the decisions you make.

Depending on your instructions, this may involve preparing a straightforward Will or discussing more complex arrangements, including Trust Wills such as Discretionary Trust Wills and Life Interest Trust Wills.

Our role is to explain your options clearly so you can make informed decisions that are appropriate for your circumstances.

Making a Will should be a straightforward and reassuring experience. Our process is designed to ensure that you understand each stage and have the opportunity to review your instructions before your Will is finalised.

Step 1: Your Initial Enquiry

Once you contact Jefferies, our team will discuss your requirements and arrange a face-to-face appointment. Before your meeting, you will receive a Will questionnaire, allowing you to consider your wishes and helping us understand your circumstances in advance.

Step 2: Discussing Your Instructions

Your appointment typically lasts around 45 minutes. During this meeting, we will review your questionnaire, discuss your instructions and explain the options available based on your individual circumstances.
Whether your requirements are straightforward or more complex, our advice is tailored specifically to you.

Step 3: Preparing Your Will

Following your appointment, we will prepare a draft Will based on your instructions and send this to you together with a covering letter explaining each clause and providing advice in relation to the document.
Should you wish to make any amendments, these can be discussed before an updated draft is prepared and reissued.

Step 4: Signing Your Will

Once you are satisfied with the draft, we will arrange an appointment for you to sign the engrossed Will at our offices. We recommend that the Will is signed at our offices to ensure that it has been executed correctly.

Step 5: Secure Storage

Many clients choose to have their original Will stored securely within our Wills Registry, which we provide free of charge. We will also provide you with a copy of the signed document and confirmation of where the original is stored.
If you wish, we can also register your Will with the National Will Register, helping ensure that the existence of your Will can be identified in the future.

For more than 125 years, Jefferies has been supporting clients with trusted legal advice.

We understand that discussing future arrangements can sometimes feel daunting, which is why we take the time to get to know each client and understand their individual circumstances before providing advice.

Our Wills and Probate fee earners are all Dementia Friends, reflecting our commitment to delivering understanding and compassion as part of the service we provide.

Rather than applying a standard solution, we focus on providing advice that is clear, practical and tailored to your needs.

Making a Will is an important part of planning for the future, but it is often only one aspect of wider estate planning.

Many clients also choose to put a Lasting Power of Attorney in place to ensure that trusted individuals can make decisions on their behalf should the need arise during their lifetime.

Similarly, those appointed as Executors under a Will may later require assistance with the administration of an estate through the Probate process.

Our Private Client team can advise across these connected areas, providing a joined-up approach to future planning.

Whether you are making your first Will or reviewing an existing one, our experienced team is here to provide clear, practical advice tailored to your individual circumstances.

From our offices in Southend and Chelmsford, we support clients across Essex with professional Will Writing services and wider Private Client advice.