Many Banks will offer their ‘most valued’ customers a “Free Will” – never before has the saying been so true that “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!”
I provide a free ‘audit’ for clients with existing Wills, and as a result I often review Wills provided by Banks. I say ‘provided’ as the Banks do not actually ‘draft’ the Wills themselves, they will take your basic instructions (they are not trained in Estate Planning so are not qualified to ‘advise’ you, or do any more than record your intentions), and then they send these off to a Solicitor to draft the Will.
This Solicitor has never met you, never spoken to you, has no idea what your family circumstances are, has no idea of the conversation you have had with your Bank Manager, and hence, most crucially, has no idea whether this Will is actually going to do what you need it to do – to protect the ones you love and protect your assets, making sure they go where you want them to, whilst minimising your inheritance tax liability wherever possible.
But the possibility of having a Will that may not be fit for purpose or tax efficient is not the only issue with Bank provided Wills. The reality is that ‘nothing in life is free’ – and though they might not charge to draft the Will, or may charge a substantially reduced fee, the ‘payback’ comes when it is too late for you to do anything about it – after you have died – as what the Banks are inclined to do, and very often do not make clear, is they write themselves into your Will as your Executor, possibly your Sole Executor.
‘So what?’ you may well ask – well, as a ‘professional Executor’ in your Will, your Bank not only has an absolute right to act, but also has a right to charge a fee for their services – and these fees might be anything from 3-11% of the value of your estate!
My own parents’ original Wills were provided ‘cheaply’ by their Bank, and despite them specifically requesting the Executors be their ‘surviving spouse and 3 children’, the Will was drafted with the Bank as SOLE Executor – a fact only picked up many years later, fortunately before it was too late to put it right!
Isn’t it time to dig out your Will and check who is appointed as your Executor?
