Will writing & estate planning in Shrivenham
Home visits in Shrivenham, Watchfield, Bourton, Longcot and Ashbury — just over the county line, and well within our normal patch.
Call 01793 228068Mon–Fri 9am–7pm · Sat by appointment · Home visits across Oxfordshire
Defence Academy families
Shrivenham and neighbouring Watchfield are shaped by the Defence Academy, and a significant proportion of the households we see here are military, civil service, academic staff or contractors connected with the site. Many are in the village for a two or three year posting rather than for good, and that raises questions a settled family never has to think about.
The most common is the will made abroad or in Scotland during an earlier posting. Scots law differs materially from the law of England and Wales — legal rights give a spouse and children a claim on the moveable estate regardless of what the will says — and a will drafted under another country’s rules may not do what you now expect. If you have moved here from elsewhere, it is worth half an hour to check rather than assuming.
Service pensions and death-in-service benefits pass under the scheme’s nomination form, not the will, and we check those forms every time. So are the practical arrangements around a posting overseas: who can sell the house, deal with the bank or sign for the removals if you are not in the country. A registered lasting power of attorney solves that, and unlike a general power it keeps working if capacity is ever lost.
A note on the county line, and everyone else
Shrivenham is in Oxfordshire rather than Wiltshire, which occasionally worries people. It makes no difference to the law: wills, lasting powers of attorney and probate follow the law of England and Wales throughout, and probate applications are handled centrally rather than by a local registry. The only practical differences are the local authority you deal with for care and social services, and which council tax bill lands on the mat.
Away from the Academy, Shrivenham and the villages along the Vale have a long-settled population, plenty of older housing, and the same needs as anywhere else — a will that reflects the family as it is now, both types of lasting power of attorney, and someone to help the executors when the time comes. A good number of the wills we are asked to look at here were made twenty or thirty years ago and name executors who have since died.
We are in the area regularly, there is no travel charge for Shrivenham or the surrounding villages, and the first conversation costs nothing.
What we can help with in Shrivenham
Wills
A clear, legally valid will that says exactly what you mean.
from £150
Trusts
Protect the family home and provide for the next generation.
from £400
Lasting Powers of Attorney
Property & financial affairs and health & welfare, registered for you.
from £150
Estate Planning
Everything pulled together into one clear, co-ordinated plan.
quoted after a free review
Executors
Make sure the people you appoint know what they are taking on.
Executor Pack £200
We also cover
Nearby villages include Watchfield, Bourton, Longcot, Ashbury, Highworth, Faringdon — all within our normal visiting area.
Talk to someone in Shrivenham
The first conversation is free, and there is no obligation to go any further.