I'm with Mr BW on this.

I have no reason to suspect that Mrs Will Writer is ... taking NNN for a ride"
I thought that is what you have just described?!! Even a top solicitor wouldn't charge as much as that for a simple will!

(Incidentally, the £30 fee for the National Will Register should be one-off, not annual.)

Maybe suggest to NNN that she takes advantage of Will Aid month in November?

Yes, read any important document before you sign it. It is all to easy for the wrong draft to be printed out.

Presumably Mrs WW is the second witness? And neither you (BW) or they (Mrs WW) are expecting a legacy from NNN?

Making a will and then keeping it under regular review is good practice, but there is no need to sign a whole new one every year. If there are small tweaks, a separate codicil (an appendix or supplement, signed in the same way, with two witnesses) might be enough.

I think the £30 is a one-off fee for registering a will with the National Will Register, but there would be a new fee every time a new will is signed and registered. So another reason for a simple codicil not a new will each year.

How much would be a reasonable fee for drafting a will? Frankly £350 plus VAT does not sound unduly expensive for what could be work of an hour or two - taking instructions, drafting, checking - and the home visit. You could of course try to do it yourself. Or instruct a solicitor, which may be more expensive. For some solicitors, drafting and then holding on to a will is a bit of a loss leader as they expect to be appointed as executor and charge fees for gathering in and distributing the estate. But presumably Mrs WW is not offering to deal with probate? Who will be the executor?

Depending on which source you believe, between 60% and 70% of people in the UK die intestate (ie without a will).

It is undoubtably a hugely profitable potential growth area.

More than a ninety grand annual turnover for a non-professional, non-trained, non regulated person, working alone, with no non-normal outgoings? Gizza job.

And while no witness to a will can be a beneficiary, it does not stop any witness who has drafted it putting in clauses to the benefit of others they know, or appointing them as paid executors.

I fully agree with you and Mr BW. Read everything and only sign when satisfied.
I have been considering a will as I have reached an age where it's important. Having worked as a Best Interests Assessor and some of the shenanigans I have seen, wills, LPA's etc...are very necessary and the paperwork needs to be thoroughly checked.

I did not realise will writing is not regulated, I'm very surprised by that.

So was I Declan. Some of them are members of an association with rules, but a lot of them aren't (and you can be in an association, get kicked out, then still carry on writing wills). If I were you, I'd get a solicitor to do it, perhaps in free wills month (March and November I think, book well ahead, donation to charity required) - although maybe, as none of us know what is around the corner, you shouldn't wait that long? You don't need to pay to store a will somewhere either - that seems to be a new thing. As long as your executors know where it is (and it can be in a safe secure place at home) that is all that matters.

When Herself and I got Wills done for Norfolk House (and I really *must* update mine this year - thanks for the reminder) it cost us a lot less than that for the two of us!

As for reading stuff - yes, in general. Although I've recently found I came a cropper on the recovery part of my car's insurance, which has been a learning experience. (And is mainly sorted now, but still, annoying to realise I'd made unwarranted assumptions about it being 'the same as every other year'...)

Lyle - is that AA Insurance by any chance? Their breakdown cover now only covers one call out per year I noticed when I read the small print (although we use AutoAid anyway, but I did notice, because, well, it's what I do). And yes, exactly, with the will pricing.

No, the shambolic recovery was GreenFlag (only collect you if you're more than 0.25 miles from home but less than 10 miles - otherwise it's chargeable) And their 'recommended' mechanic was even worse. That one's still having words/issues...

I've moved over to RAC, who offered what looks like a decent deal. (But of course one only really knows that when you use them, so... we'll see)

Lyle - We've used Autoaid for many years, and they have been good on the few occasions we've needed to use them (they use local garages who have to meet strict standards to keep their business).

But, they are now owned by an insurance company, so they are rapidly creeping up in price, and the T&Cs have started to change, including a call-out fee of £25 for any vehicles over 10 years old, and the option to pay an excess of £30 on every call out to keep the cost of the cover down. Which makes sense to me.