Free will writing service

Yes, you can make an online will. Writing your will, like most things in the world, has gone digital. Octopus Legacy’s online system was created by a solicitor and legal team, and saves you time and money when making your will. Additionally, for peace of mind, your online will is checked by their expert legal team who are available when you need help.

You can write your online will without a solicitor, and it’s completely legal. Octopus Legacy’s online will system was built by a solicitor and expert legal team. It just requires you to input your own details to be completed.

You will still need to enter your card details to finalise the transaction, even though the will is free. There won’t be any charge made to your card.

Octopus Legacy do offer a yearly subscription service that allows you to make unlimited changes to your will. The service is free for the first year and only £10 per year after that.

You can cancel this service at any time.

They offer this because a will is a living document so most people update it every 5 years, or every time they have a major life change. Traditionally this was really expensive – involving starting from scratch each time, or paying hefty fees for will amendments (called ‘codicils’).

Octopus Legacy’s will subscription service allows you to easily amend your will at any point AND save money over time. Even if you only update your will once every eight years, you will have saved money by being part of the subscription service.

Most likely you will need to update your online will. It is a living document that will evolve as your life and situation changes. The advantage of the Octopus Legacy online will service is that you can update it any time. This is free for the first year and only £10 per year after that, which you can opt out of at any time. Just let Octopus Legacy know what amends you would like to make and they will send you the updated version to sign with two witnesses.

To cancel your subscription, you’ll need to go to your will dashboard (https://octopuslegacy.com/will/dashboard) then on the right-hand side you’ll see a little question mark next to ‘Resubmit for checking’. If you hover over that question mark, there should be a prompt to “Manage my subscription”. There you will find steps on how to cancel the subscription service.

If you would like help with arranging a Lasting Power of Attorney, you can write your LPAs (both health and financial) with an Octopus Legacy Estate Planning Consultant for £699. The Estate Planning Consultant will:

• Draft and finalise your LPAs (health & financial)
  • Take you through the signing process
  • Register them with the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) for you
  • This option covers the OPG registration fees (£92 per form)

An additional discount of £100 is applied for a couple writing both LPAs with an Estate Planning Consultant (£1299 rather than £1399).

Please note, Octopus Legacy no longer provide an option for clients to write their LPAs online.

Estate Planning Consultants conduct home visits, video or phone calls, to assist people in the process of drafting and creating wills. They will go through different options available to you, explain how the will writing process works, and guide you through the next steps.

There are some cases where you may want to seek legal advice. If you need a trust setting up, or have a larger estate, then you may need a more complex will. If you think this might be you, then you can speak to Octopus Legacy’s wills team on 020 4525 3605 and quote CISWO, the Coal Mining Charity. They can help you find the best option for getting your will sorted.

If you do need a complex will, the simple aspect of the will is still free, however you will
receive a no-obligation quote for the additional work needed.

Prices start from:

• Single Complex Will: £350* (usually £450)
• Mirror/Joint Complex Will: £600* (usually £750)
• A £100 discount of the free simple will has already been applied to these costs.

You can call Octopus Legacy’s wills team on 020 4525 3605 and quote CISWO, the Coal Mining Charity. They will ask you a few questions about your needs and will book an appointment for you to speak with an Estate Planning Consultant. This can be done either:

• Over the phone
• Via video call
• A home visit
• Or in office (this will be dependent on location and not always available)

Yes. You can also use this online link: Online Will | Will Writing Service UK – Octopus Legacy to book a call back from Octopus Legacy’s booking team, who will schedule an appointment with one of their Estate Planning Consultants. You first need to complete the questionnaire, and the next page will allow you to choose whether you want to complete a will online, if you want support over the phone, or if you want to book an in-person visit. There will then be an option to book a specific time for a call back.

You can also ask the CISWO Personal Welfare Team to help you make an appointment with an Estate Planning Consultant.

Yes, a simple will is still free in partnership with CISWO, the Coal Mining Charity, when you use Octopus Legacy’s phone or face to face service. If however you have a complex estate, the Estate Planning Consultant will send you a quote for the additional work and you can decide if you want to take it forward or not.

You can also take advantage of unlimited changes to your will if you write it directly with an Estate Planning Consultant. As the ‘offline’ wills are physical documents, and changes require a little more work, the cost of the subscription service for offline wills is £30 a year. This does include the unlimited changes and storage of your will in Octopus Legacy’s secure will storage facility.

There are different options you can choose from:

• In a secure custom-built will storage space, such as Octopus Legacy’s will storage facility, which has CCTV and includes fireproof and waterproof security
  • Simply post your will to Octopus Legacy once signed, and they will store it securely
  • For all wills written online, Octopus Legacy’s secure will storage is included in the £10 a year subscription service
  • For offline wills written with an estate planning consultant, storage at Octopus Legacy’s will storage facility is included in the £30 a year subscription service
• With a solicitors firm
• Or, at home in a secure place

We also recommend:

• Registering your will with the National Wills Register
• Telling your executors and family where your will is so it can be found easily.

CISWO, the Coal Mining Charity, has partnered with Octopus Legacy to make it even easier to get your will sorted and for you to support the causes you care about. Giving a gift in your will can have a huge impact for charities like us, helping us to make a real difference. But writing your will can sometimes feel overwhelming and difficult. We wanted to make the process clear and simple for our beneficiaries and those who wish to support the charity and its work. We have therefore paid for the wills to be written at a reduced cost (free basic wills and subsidised complex wills).

While many people choose to include a gift in their will there is no obligation to do so, and you can still use this service if you do not wish to include a gift in your will.

DIY Will Kits can be found at your local Post Office or stationery shop. They offer a simple guide to writing a will from scratch and are technically legally binding when signed with a witness. However, DIY Will Kits will not work for everyone. You can learn more about Post Will Kits, their pros and cons, and the other options available here. This will help you decide what will work best for you.

Online, phone and face to face will-writing services allow you to take the stress out of the process with easy-to-use tools and on-hand support from professionals. But their main benefit is that you can feel confident that your wishes will be followed, thanks to the fact each will is reviewed by a will expert to make sure it’s ship-shape before you sign it. This reduces the risk of your will being rendered invalid.

Octopus Legacy offer two Estate Planning Packages, which include additional benefits and support for both the person making their will and their family. You may be offered these packages during a conversation with an Estate Planning Consultant, but there is no obligation to take it.  A full price list of all of the additional services and packages offered by Octopus Legacy are available from your CISWO Personal Welfare worker.