How much does a will cost?
The fee is agreed in writing before any work starts, and it does not change unless you ask us to do something different and agree the new figure first.
Single will
Quoted on request
One will, one person. Includes the instruction meeting, the draft, one round of changes, the signing appointment and storage of the original.
Mirror wills, for a couple
Quoted on request
Two wills drafted together. Includes a joint meeting, separate instructions where either of you wants them, both drafts, the signing appointment and storage.
Lasting power of attorney, one type
Quoted on request
Property and financial affairs, or health and welfare. Includes advice on appointing attorneys, the document, signing in the correct order and registration.
Lasting powers of attorney, both types
Quoted on request
Both documents for one person, prepared and registered together.
Will including a trust
Quoted on request
Where a trust is recommended. Quoted individually once we know what the trust needs to do.
Review of an existing will
Quoted on request
We read the will you have and report on whether it still works. Credited against the cost of a new will if you decide to make one.
Fees, VAT and what is not included
The quote covers the whole job. These are the things it includes, and the costs that sit outside it.
VAT
Prices are shown excluding VAT, which is charged at the prevailing rate, currently 20%.
The registration fee
Registering a lasting power of attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian carries a fee set by the OPG, payable in addition to ours. Reductions and exemptions are available on low income or certain benefits — we tell you if you qualify and help you claim it.
Home visits
We can take instructions at your home, or by telephone or video, across England and Wales. Tell us where you are and we will tell you whether a visit charge applies before you commit.
The fee does not change
The fee is agreed in writing before any work starts. It changes only if you ask us to do something outside what was quoted, and then only after we have told you the new figure and you have agreed it.
Probate
Estate administration is priced separately, because what it involves varies so widely. Our published price and service information for probate is on the pricing page, as the SRA Transparency Rules require.
What the fee covers
The meeting
An hour or so going through your family, what you own, how you own it and what you want to happen. Most of the value is here, because this is where the problems show up.
The draft
A will drafted for your circumstances and sent to you with a plain explanation of what each clause does and why it is there.
Your changes
Changes after the first draft are included. The fee moves only if you ask for something different from what we scoped.
Signing and storage
We witness the signing so the formalities in section 9 of the Wills Act are met, and store the original so your executors can find it.
What moves the price
A single will leaving everything to one person is the cheapest thing we draft. The figure rises with the number of decisions that have to be made, and the commonest are a second marriage, children from more than one relationship, a beneficiary who is under 18 or who cannot manage money, and anything owned abroad.
A trust in the will is the other one. Sometimes a trust does something a plain will could not, such as letting a surviving partner live in a house that eventually passes to your own children. Where a plain will does the job, we draft a plain will. Shares in a company add work too, because the will has to be read against the shareholder agreement and the articles before anybody can say where the shares go.
Whichever of these applies to you, the fee is fixed and agreed in writing before we start, so the figure you are told is the figure you pay.
Ask for a quote
Tell us what you need and we will confirm the fee in writing before we start.