A solicitor drafts your will
Your will is prepared by a solicitor at AD Solicitors Limited, a firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 8011228. You are told at the outset who is doing the work and who supervises them.
AD Wills
Wills, lasting powers of attorney and probate, drafted by solicitors at an SRA-regulated firm. Fixed prices agreed before we start, and the same firm to call when the time comes to use them.
A will decides who looks after your children, who receives what you own, and who is responsible for sorting it all out. Without one, none of those decisions are yours — the intestacy rules make them, and they take no account of what you would have wanted. They do not recognise an unmarried partner. They do not recognise a stepchild who was never legally adopted. They do not know which of your children you would have trusted to take charge.
We take your instructions in a meeting, set out our recommendation in writing, and arrange the signing so the will is valid. Most people are done in two appointments. You will know the fee before we start any work, and it will not change unless you ask us to do something different.
What we do
If what you need is not listed, ask us.
Single will
A will for one person: who inherits, who deals with your estate, and guardians for any children under 18. We check it against how you own your home and any pension or life policy nominations, because those often pass outside the will entirely.
Mirror wills
Two wills for a couple, drafted together so they work as a pair. Each is a separate document and each of you gives your own instructions — including anything you would rather discuss with us on your own.
Lasting powers of attorney
Property and financial affairs, health and welfare, or both. We advise on who to appoint and whether they should act together or separately, prepare the documents, arrange the signing in the right order, and register them with the Office of the Public Guardian.
Wills with a trust
Where a trust genuinely helps — providing for a child until they are older, protecting a share of the home for children of an earlier relationship, or making provision for a family member who cannot manage money themselves. We will tell you whether a trust would do anything your will cannot.
Reviewing an existing will
We read the will you have, tell you plainly whether it still does what you need after a marriage, divorce, birth, death or house move, and set out what would need to change. Marriage revokes a will in most cases; divorce changes how it reads.
Probate and estate administration
Acting for executors from the first steps to the final accounts: valuing the estate, the inheritance tax forms, the application for the grant, collecting in the assets, paying debts and distributing to the beneficiaries.
What using a solicitors' firm means for you
AD Solicitors Limited is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under number 8011228. These come with that.
The Legal Ombudsman is open to you
If we do not put something right to your satisfaction, you can take the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, the independent service for clients of regulated legal practices. Our complaints procedure tells you how, and how long each stage takes.
Indemnity insurance on the SRA's minimum terms
We carry professional indemnity insurance that meets the minimum terms and conditions the SRA sets for every firm it regulates. Our liability to you is not capped at the fee you paid.
The SRA Compensation Fund sits behind us
The Compensation Fund exists to help clients who lose money as a result of a regulated firm's dishonesty or failure to account. It is a protection that comes with using a solicitors' practice.
We can act on the probate too
Applying for a grant of probate is a reserved legal activity that only an authorised firm may carry out. When the time comes, your family can come back to the firm that already holds the will.
Fourteen days to change your mind
Where we take your instructions at your home or by phone or video, you have a statutory right to cancel within fourteen days under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. We set this out in the client care letter, with the form to use.
How it works
Tell us what you need
A short call or the form on this page. We tell you which service fits, what it costs and what we will need from you. Nothing is charged for this.
The instruction meeting
Around an hour, at our office, at your home or by video. We go through your family, what you own, how you own it, and what you want to happen. We tell you where the law will not do what you expect, and what to do about it.
Your draft, in writing
We send the draft with a plain-English note explaining each decision it records and our recommendation where there is a choice to make. You read it in your own time and come back with changes.
Signing, done properly
A will has to be signed and witnessed in the way the Wills Act requires, or it does not work. We arrange the signing, make sure the witnesses are people who can validly act, and confirm in writing once it is complete.
Storage and review
We store the original free of charge and give you a copy. We write to you every five years to ask whether anything has changed.
Questions people ask
How much does a will cost?
The fee is fixed and confirmed in writing before any work begins. What you are quoted is what you pay, unless you ask us to do something different and agree the new figure first.
How long does it take?
For most people, two appointments over two to three weeks: one to give instructions, one to sign. If you need it faster, tell us — we can usually work to a deadline.
Do I have to come to your office?
No. We take instructions at our office, at your home, or by telephone or video, across England and Wales. The signing has to be done in person with two witnesses, and we arrange that to suit you.
What happens if I die without a will?
The intestacy rules decide who inherits. They give nothing to an unmarried partner however long you have been together, nothing to a stepchild who was not legally adopted, and nothing to a friend or a charity. They also decide who is entitled to deal with the estate, which may not be the person you would have chosen.
Does my will cover my house if I own it jointly?
It depends how you own it. If you own as joint tenants, your share passes automatically to the other owner when you die, whatever your will says. If you own as tenants in common, your share passes under your will. We check which applies before drafting, because people are frequently wrong about it.
Is a lasting power of attorney the same thing as a will?
No, and you need both for different reasons. A will takes effect when you die. A lasting power of attorney takes effect while you are alive, if you become unable to make decisions yourself. Without one, your family has to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy, which costs more, takes months and is supervised afterwards.
Will my estate pay inheritance tax?
Most do not. Each person has a nil-rate band of £325,000, and a further residence nil-rate band of up to £175,000 where a home passes to children or grandchildren. Both are frozen until 5 April 2031. Anything unused on a first death can usually pass to a surviving spouse or civil partner. We tell you where you stand and whether it is worth planning for.
Do you store the original?
Yes, free of charge, and we give you a copy to keep. We write to you every five years to ask whether anything has changed. You can ask for the original back at any time.
Can you deal with the estate afterwards?
Yes. Applying for a grant of probate is work only an authorised firm may do, and we are authorised to do it. Your executors can come back to us, and we will already hold the will.
Who will be looking after my matter?
A solicitor, supervised by Robert Festenstein, Head of Legal. You are told who at the outset and they remain your point of contact until the work is finished.
Make a start
Tell us what you need and we will tell you which service fits, what it costs and how long it takes. That conversation is free.