Wills - My Fortress

Making a Will couldn’t be easier with My Fortress

We help you with our easy 3-step process from start to finish. Book a free consultation with a professional today to find out your options.

Make a will in 3 easy steps

Talk with an advisor on the phone

Discuss your options with a no commitment friendly telephone conversation.

Confirm your instructions

We will arrange a time suitable to you to confirm details and arrange a video call to take instruction for drafting.

Review, receive, and sign

Review the draft of your will, receive it via recorded mail, and sign it according to the attached attestation instructions.

A Will is a legal document that allows you to choose what will happen to your property after you die. Without a Will your property passes under the rules of intestacy. You can also make Guardianship provisions in your Will to nominate who will care for your children after you pass.

Everyone should take the time to write a Will, especially if you own a house, business or if you have a young family or a complex family situation. If you are in any doubt as to whether you should make a Will, you should contact one of our fully trained specialist Will writers.

10 reasons to make a Will

Safeguard the family homeIntestacy rules mean that if you do not write a Will the family home could be split between beneficiaries you wouldn’t have chosen. This may even mean family members being forced to move out of a house.
Estate planning
A valid Will can be drafted in a way to minimise the estate’s liability to Inheritance tax, as well as being efficient for beneficiaries.
Provide for dependants (including unmarried partners and stepchildren)
With no automatic right to inherit, it is important to draft a valid Will to protect your loved ones.
Appoint Guardians for childrenA properly drafted Will ensures that your nomination of Guardianship for your children is legally secure.
Decide who should settle your affairs (Executors)Remove any ambiguity for your loved ones by providing specific instructions of what you want to happen to your estate, and just as importantly, who should manage the affairs of your estate. Giving your Executors time to prepare and discussing your wishes with them will undoubtedly save time and worry in the future.

Streamline the probate process
Although almost all estates go through probate, estates without a valid Will can make this a long, expensive and tiresome exercise. Drafting a Will confirms who you wish to administer your estate and gives instructions so that the court does not decide for you.
Choose who will (and will not) inherit
You can use a Will to give specific gifts, or assign to a beneficiary a portion of what is left after all gifts and taxes are paid (the residuary). You can also use a Will to ensure that some people don’t receive anything. Complicated family dynamics are not uncommon, and there are many reasons why Testators use their Will to favour certain beneficiaries more than others.
Record funeral wishes
Having your funeral wishes confirmed in your Will can remove the burden of a difficult decision for your loved ones.
Support a charity or worthy cause with a legacy
When deciding how you wish to divide one’s estate, many feel that they would like to help worthy causes. You are entitled to leave any part of your estate to whomever you wish, and My Fortress has well established precedents to allow you to leave a legacy to charity in your Will.
Minimise the potential for family disputes
Regrettably dividing an estate can lead to dispute among family members and beneficiaries. Drafting a Will eliminates the guesswork as to your wishes for your estate. A professionally drafted, well documented Will can help to minimise the chance of a dispute arising as to your wishes.

At My Fortress, our Professional Will Writers are experts in guiding clients through what can be a daunting and complex process with proficiency and sensitivity. We understand that everybody has different and unique circumstances and treat every client as an individual. We aim to give a bespoke experience with professionalism as a uniformity.

We listen carefully to our clients wishes and offer a straightforward approach offering advice, support and on-going communication throughout the process to ensure all needs are dealt with fairly and legally.

You can make a will in 3 easy steps by completing our online form or

Our frequently asked questions

Why should I consider professional assistance when making an LPA?

It is of vital importance that you make the correct decisions when choosing your attorney(s), deciding how they should act, and deciding which powers to give them…

When should I make a Will?

If you haven’t had a Will prepared before
If you are not married and wish your partner to inherit
If you have not updated your Will since marriage
If your financial situation has changed
If you have stepchildren

Why do I need an LPA?

A Lasting Power of Attorney is a vital legal document that everyone should have in place in case the worst should happen, and you can’t make important decisions for yourself. If an LPA is not in place by this time, it can be a long and expensive court process through “Deputyship” to get the help you need, without the guarantee that the person that you wish is nominated. A well written LPA guarantees that your affairs are in order so that should the worst happen, you are prepared and protected.

What can cause a Will to fail?

There are many ways a will can fail:

Attestation (signing) issues- If the will isn’t signed and witnessed correctly, it can fail.

The original Will is lost or damaged- Copies of the original are not acceptable in their place.

The testator lacked capacity- If the subject of the will did not have the mental capacity to make the Will, it is invalid.

The Testator was under undue influence- If the subject of the Will was not acting freely in writing the Will, it is invalid.

Some parts of a Will may fail where others are valid, in this case (partial intestacy) the gifts that are valid succeed, and those that are not fail.

It is important that you get the drafting of your Will right, having professional help from My Fortress’ professional Will writers can give you peace of mind that your wishes are reflected completely and legally in your Will.

What can a Will do for me?

Avoid intestacy: Make it easier on your surviving relatives by making a valid will. Intestacy may also come with expensive lawyer’s fees.

Avoid family conflict: Remove any ambiguity as to your wishes and avoid the potential for arguments among beneficiaries.

Choose who will (and who won’t) inherit: Give specific gifts to your loved ones, and even choose to leave people out, who may stand to inherit if you do not make a valid Will.

Guardianship: Nominate trusted friends or relatives to look after your children.

Funeral wishes: Make your funeral wishes clear to your family so that you have peace of mind that your preferences are written down and unambiguous.

Estate planning: A valid Will can be drafted in a way to minimise the estate’s liability to Inheritance tax, as well as being efficient for beneficiaries.

How much Inheritance tax (IHT) will I pay?

The standard rate of IHT is 40% over anything in your estate over the ‘Nil Rate Band’ of £325,000. There are numerous other allowances that may be relevant in your circumstances (for example if you own a house). It is also important to note that gifts to spouses are usually exempt from inheritance tax.

How can I deal with the family home?

You must know how your property is owned: either solely or as a ‘Joint Tenancy’ or ‘Tenants in Common’. If it is as a joint tenancy, the ownership of the property will pass to the other joint owner(s) and isn’t disposed with by your Will.

If you own the home as ‘Tenants in Common’ then your Will can be used to gift your home to any of your beneficiaries or leave it to form part of your residuary estate to be left in shares between multiple beneficiaries. You can also leave a property on trust, so that a beneficiary can live in it for a set period, before it is released to its final beneficiary (remaindermen) to own.

What are the two types of LPA?

There are two types of LPA: A health and Welfare LPA and a Property and Financial Affairs LPA.

A Health and Welfare LPA appoints one attorney or more to help make medical and care decisions. This could be which treatments to consent to, or which assisted living facility to live in. This LPA only comes into effect after it is registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and the Donor has lost mental capacity

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA appoints one or more attorney to help with financial matters and help manage your finances. This LPA only comes into effect once it is registered with the OPG, though the donor has the choice in drafting whether they wish to have the LPA active as soon as it is registered, or only if the donor has lost capacity.

Why should I not delay in preparing and registering an LPA?

An LPA can only be registered if the Donor (the subject of the LPA) has the mental capacity to do so. If you wait until it is too late, the LPA will not be able to be registered by the Office of the Public Guardian. In this case, a Deputyship order may have to be requested from the courts, a much longer and often considerably more expensive process.

Another reason is that the waiting times for registration are quite long, with some reporting up to 20 weeks wait for confirmation that their LPA has been registered. Its best to get your affairs in order in good time to ensure that you can rely on the help of your chosen Attorneys when you need it.

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