Will writing & estate planning in South Marston
Appointments across South Marston, Stanton Fitzwarren, Kingsdown and out towards Highworth — evenings and weekends if that is easier with young children.
Call 01793 228068Mon–Fri 9am–7pm · Sat by appointment · Home visits across Wiltshire
New houses, young families, first wills
South Marston has changed a great deal in a decade. The new housing on the eastern edge of Swindon has brought several hundred young families into what was a small village, and for most of them the estate-planning conversation is their first. It is nearly always about the same two things: who looks after the children, and who sorts out the mortgage.
Guardianship is the part people put off, because choosing means admitting the possibility. It is also the one decision no one else can make for you. If both parents die without appointing a guardian, the court decides, and it may not land where you would have chosen — particularly where grandparents are elderly or where one set of relatives lives at the other end of the country. Naming a guardian in a will takes ten minutes and settles it.
The money side needs thought too. Life cover and death-in-service benefits often mean a young family’s estate is far larger on paper than the couple imagine — frequently several hundred thousand pounds once the mortgage is cleared. Left outright to children, that money becomes theirs absolutely at eighteen. Most parents, once they picture it, would rather it were held to a more sensible age, which a simple trust in the will can do without any great cost or complexity.
The practical details around here
Because so many South Marston households have a mortgage and a policy, we always check how the policies are written. A life policy paid to the estate is assessed for inheritance tax and has to wait for probate before it pays out; the same policy written into trust generally pays out quickly and outside the estate. It costs nothing to put it right and it is the single most useful thing many young families do.
We also check how the house is owned. Joint tenants means the survivor takes the whole property automatically. Tenants in common means each half can be dealt with separately, which matters where one partner brought a deposit from a previous relationship, or where parents helped with the deposit and expect it back eventually.
Appointments are at home and we are happy to come after bedtime — most of our South Marston fact finds happen at eight in the evening with the kettle on. The first conversation costs nothing.
What we can help with in South Marston
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 Stanton Fitzwarren, Stratton St Margaret, Highworth, Sevenhampton, Kingsdown — all within our normal visiting area.
Talk to someone in South Marston
The first conversation is free, and there is no obligation to go any further.