DIY? (Sure, why not?)
Plenty of help available...
Princess Diana's will is a comma-free document obviously produced by experienced solicitors.
If you want to write your own will or codicil, plenty of resources are out there to help you: books, 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, download a new copy if you make a mistake and start all over again.
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 fresh form.
Whatever you do, if you make an error or want to change something, do not strike or cross it out and insert a correction. 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 not have 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.
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 You can save money by borrowing books from the library, but library books may be out of date, even if published within the last year or two.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.
