Wills

By making a Will you decide who looks after your property and affairs after your death and you decide who inherits your estate.

Any client who cares about what happens to their property after they die should make a Will. If someone dies without having made a Will, the intestacy rules will govern who inherits their estate and it may be that their friends, chosen relatives or favourite charities inherit nothing at all.

Making a Will can be complicated and getting expert legal advice is essential to make sure your Will is valid, binding and accurately reflects your wishes. A properly prepared, professionally drafted Will will allow you to:

• Appoint the people you trust to be your executors to manage your estate and distribute it amongst your beneficiaries.
• Appoint the people you trust to be guardians in relation to any of your children who are not yet 18 years of age.
• Confirm your preferred funeral arrangements.
• Give someone a life interest in a particular asset (such as your house) allowing them to use the asset for their lifetime.
• Leave specified assets or items (such as family heirlooms or things of a sentimental nature) to your friends or chosen relatives.
• Leave specific sums of money to your friends or chosen relatives.
• Leave specific sums of money to your favourite charities.
• Decide which or your friends or chosen relatives will inherit the residue of your estate and at what age those friends or relatives are to inherit.
• Create a Trust or Trusts in favour of any minor beneficiaries.
• Minimise potential inheritance tax liability payable on the value of your estate.

Our team of experienced private client solicitors can guide you through making your Will to make the process as straightforward and stress-free as possible. We offer a complete range of services (including fixed fees) which means that no matter how straightforward or complicated your affairs are we will be able to prepare the right Will for you.

If you already have a Will we recommend you review it every three or four years to make sure it is up to date and continues to meet your needs. We offer a free no obligation Will Review Service for both new and existing clients.

Our Solicitors

Our solicitors will be pleased to help.

• Greg Smith
  Partner, Head of Property Department
  greg@lambert-taylor-gregory.co.uk
  Greg qualified in 2003 and joined the firm in 2012. Greg was made a Partner in 2019. Greg specialises in Property Law although he also deals with Wills, Probate and Estate Administration work. Greg has over 15 years post qualification experience.
• Geoff Laws
  Legal Executive
  lawsg@lambert-taylor-gregory.co.uk
  Geoff joined the firm in 2019 and has over 30 years experience in dealing with Private Client matters. Geoff specialises in Wills and Probate, Trusts/Asset Preservation and Powers of Attorney.
• Fiona Cartwright
  Solicitor
  cartwrightf@lambert-taylor-gregory.co.uk
  Fiona qualified in 2012 and joined the firm in 2021 after having previously worked for a number of years in legal advice clinics based at Northumbria University and the University of Sunderland. Fiona also lectures part time at the University of Essex online. She now specialises in Wills and Probate, Trusts/Asset Preservation, Powers of Attorney and NHS continuing healthcare advice.