DIY? (Sure, why not?)
Plenty of help available...
Blank spaces at the end of paragraphs are a no-no in Brooke Astor's will, and for good reason. Suppose that Fred Bloggs wanted to amend paragraph 8, section A to read: "... added to my general estate or to Fred Bloggs." The continuous underline after the last word in each paragraph (in this example, the word 'estate') prevents such mischievous additions.
If you want to write your own will or codicil, plenty of resources - many of them free or low cost - are out there to help you: books, pamphlets, pre-printed forms and kits.
If you decide to make your own will...
If you are working from a blank sheet of paper, use a word processor and make as many drafts as necessary to produce a good final draft. If you make even the tiniest of errors, make a new corrected draft. Don't print out the incorrect version and make the correction with a pen.
If you are using a pre-printed form from the internet and you make a mistake, download a new blank form, start all over again, and destroy the form with the mistake.
If you are using a pre-printed form from a stationer, book store or other source, make photocopies before you start filling it it - and if you make a mistake, start all over again on a clean copy.
Whatever you do, if you make an error or want to change something, do not strike or cross it out and insert a correction. In court, a change made in pen will be treated as if it were made after the will was signed and witnessed. As such, the addition will be considered to have not been properly witnessed or signed. Start over and produce a clean draft.
When you are satisfied that you have your final final draft, assemble your witnesses and have the signing and witnessing ceremony. And even after your will has been executed, if it needs to be changed, whether a day or ten years later, change it. You may find another mistake that needs correcting. If a lot of time has passed, your will could easily be out of date - you have a new child or grandchild, or more or less money than before. Don't make changes on the original; make a new one, properly signed and witnessed.
Is time money?
If you do write your own will, you can get guidance from a wide range of books and pamphlets, some of them highly detailed and comprehensive. But the benefits they confer will come with a cost. If you buy one or more books, you are shelling out money that might better have gone to a solicitor. You can save money by borrowing books from the library, but library books may be out of date, even if published within the last year or two.
If you have substantial assets or many relatives and friends, you may need to spend at least several days to master your will-writing brief. A solicitor could do it in an hour or two, and probably produce a shrewder document with a greater likelihood of being valid, tax efficient and less vulnerable to legal challenge.
