Sometimes we are asked whether or not a person needs to attend at a solicitor’s office for the purpose of making a will. The purpose of attending with a solicitor for making a will is that you have the assistance of an appropriate advisor in making a will and that you also have a private space where you can talk freely about your assets and your wishes in complete confidence.But what if you cannot attend the office or there is some other reason why you cannot leave your home to make a will. Does that mean you cannot make a will?
That is not the case at all. It is entirely possible for a solicitor to assist you remotely and talk to you about your will over the phone or via Zoom or other video means such as WhatsApp. We regularly work with clients remotely to assist them making their will at home. After taking instruction over the phone, we then draft a persons will and post or email it out to them.
However there are certain issues with making a will at home. The key issue really is in respect of witnessing a will at home. It is important that wills are witnessed in a particular manner. The signing and witnessing of a will is set out in legislation and must be strictly followed otherwise the will could be invalid.
Not only that only certain categories of persons can witness a will. In particular it is very important that no person who is benefiting under a will should witness a will, and this would include the spouse of such person. Making all of these witness arrangements can be more difficult to organise if a person is at home.
One of the main reasons that solicitors would encourage clients to attend their office to make a will rather than at home is that when a client is in a solicitors office, it is easier for the solicitor to ensure that the client is under no pressure or influence in making a will. There is always a concern that if a person is making a will at home that they are being “strong armed” to leave an asset one way or that some other type of pressure is put on the person making the will, who could be elderly and easily influenced. So these concerns would exist when wills are made at home.
We regularly assist clients in witnessing and signing wills at home but it is not without its challenges. If you wish to speak to a solicitor about making your will at home please contact Colm Kelly solicitor on the website www.kerrywills.ie.
By Colm Kelly solicitor, founder of Kerrywills.ie