Shropshire residents have been warned about the importance of having their Will drafted by an expert to ensure executors are able to interpret their wishes exactly for the distribution of their estate without encountering any difficulties.
The warning, issued by Oswestry Solicitor, Victoria Wilson, comes in the wake of the recent debacle of a £520,000 bequest to ‘the government of the day' in the Will of former nurse, Joan Edwards.
Miss Edwards' solicitor stated that he had verbally checked her intentions about the unusual nature of her proposed bequest, but when the executors paid the legacy directly to the current coalition government following her death, there was such an outcry that the legacy was recovered and paid to the Treasury for national use.
Those who opposed payment to the present government argued that there was no mention in the Will of money going to a political party, merely an inference that Miss Edwards wanted her life savings to be used for the national good rather than electioneering.
"It is essential that Wills are drafted in such a way as to ensure there are absolutely no ambiguities whatsoever," says Victoria Wilson, a solicitor who works in the Oswestry office of leading Shropshire and North Wales law firm GHP Legal. "A good solicitor will check and re-check with the client that the Will reflects exactly that client's final wishes.
"The Law Society is planning to introduce a Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme in the near future with a view to raising standards in the will-making profession and assist members of the public in choosing an accredited Solicitor who is proven to have met the required standard. Until that happens I would advise anyone making a Will to consult a Solicitor who specialises in will drafting."