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Dangers of DIY Wills

It's always tempting to save a few pounds, and indeed sometimes it pays off. In all walks of life and Industries there will always be "bargains" and claims of "being cheaper and easier." This is just the type of society that we live in. With some of the "bargains" being genuine and working well, there are also those which do not live up to expectation, costing us much more down the line. We all know this, because at some point in our life's we have all experienced this kind of scenario.

Similar problems apply to Wills. Many people think that Solicitors or Professional Estate Planning Companies lose money if people make their own Wills. Nothing is further from the truth.

Sometimes DIY-Wills do the job, but all too often they are ambiguous, not executed properly and do not help protect any of the assets for their loved ones. As you can imagine, those problems take far more time and money to resolve than if the deceased had asked a Professional Estate Planning Company to produce the documents in the first place. Planning your Estate and making a professional Last Will and Testament is one of the most important things you will ever do. Doing it the professional way provides security for you family and total peace of mind. Doing it any other way may leave a little more in your pocket in the short term, but unfortunately that's all it may do.


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	The Importance of Succession Planning By Lee Allan Head of CBN Financial Services
Lee is a Life Member of MDRT the premier international association of financial professionals and speaks internationally as an Ambassador for MDRT with Articles published in the Manchester Messenger, the monthly journal of the Manchester Law Society (December 2008) and in the Newcastle News, the monthly journal of the Newcastle upon Tyne Law Society (June 2009). Most business owners would, if asked be willing to implement a Business Continuity plan and avoid the disastrous consequences and hardship that they, their families and their employees may face on the death and or disability of a shareholder/Key person. It’s just that no one has ever discussed it with them! How long do you think a businesswould survive if it lost a Shareholder/Key Person? Not as long as you might think as the failure rate is frightening, 17% collapse in month one, 6% one to three month, 15% four to six month, a further 15% six month to one year and only 47% survive longer than one year. (Source: Legal & General Protection Survey 2003). Succession planning has recently been formalised in the new British Standard, Business Continuity BS25999.The need for Shareholder Protection arrangements along with the relevantdouble option agreements, Key Person loss of profit insurance and loan protection cover etc, are all features of this latest standard. Business owners don’t often consider how they would cope financially if a shareholder or a key worker in their business fell ill ordied unexpectedly. Over 100,000 UK businesses fail each year because the owners haven’t adequately planned for the future or protected against the unexpected and thousands more face realfinancial hardship. (MORI Succession Survey November 2006)

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