Guest Blog – Matt Parr from Shakespeare Martineau
Making a Will is important and so solicitors who prepare Wills have been classified as key workers to enable us to continue offering our services to clients who need them.
Now more than ever, ensuring their affairs are in order and their Will is up to date is on a lot of our clients’ minds. It is still possible to make a Will despite Lockdown and social distancing measure being in place.
Ordinarily, we would meet with you face-to-face but we appreciate that this isn’t always sensible, particularly if you are vulnerable or are maintaining strict ‘social bubbles’ which enable you to maintain contact with family. We are happy to meet with you virtually via video conferencing facilities such as Skype, Zoom, Microsoft Teams of FaceTime if you would prefer. From that point on, we can deal with matters by telephone, email or post. We just need to ensure we are speaking with you and not someone pretending to be you!
Once we have fully understood your needs and concerns, we will prepare a draft Will for your consideration and send this by secure, password protected email or by post, whichever method is best for you. Your draft Will is accompanied by a detailed explanatory note of each of the clauses it contains and any additional information needed from you will be clearly highlighted. Once you receive the draft Will we are on hand to answer any questions you may have to ensure you receive the high-quality service and tailored legal advice you would ordinarily receive from us.
How do I sign my Will?
A Will must still be signed in the presence of two independent witnesses despite the issues regarding self-isolating. There were discussions about relaxing these strict rules during this crisis but those talks haven’t led to any changes yet.
It is incredibly important that the Will is signed correctly and we will provide you with detailed instructions how to do this and offer suggestions as to how this can be done whilst complying with government guidance regarding social distancing.
For your added reassurance, we can oversee the Will signing process either by video-conferencing or in person, if necessary, either at your home or outdoor space by arrangement.
Please do get in touch if you wish to review the contents of your Will. The private client team at Shakespeare Martineau are available to assist you. If you’d like to get in touch with Matt, you can call him directly, or we’d be happy to make an introduction.
Matt Parr is an associate solicitor at Shakespeare Martineau and he works with individuals and their families to help them negotiate the many pitfalls they can encounter when planning for their future by providing pragmatic, bespoke advice.
Email: matthew.parr@shma.co.uk
Tel: 01908 304 420
Mobile: 07976 412698
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