Wills, Powers of Attorney & Probate Solicitors

Mirror wills are a pair of near-identical wills for a couple — typically leaving everything to each other, then to the children. They're the most cost-effective way for married couples, civil partners and unmarried partners to put proper protection in place — and for unmarried couples they're essential: the intestacy rules give an unmarried partner nothing automatically, however long you've been together.

A solicitor-drafted mirror will also deals with the questions template services skip: what happens if you separate, guardianship of children under 18, substitute beneficiaries, and whether a simple mirror will is actually right for you (second marriages and blended families often need trust provisions instead).

Legally, no — a home-made or online will can be valid. Practically, the danger is that an invalid or ambiguous will fails silently: nobody discovers the problem until you've died and it's too late to fix. Common failures we see include incorrect witnessing (a beneficiary or their spouse witnessing the will loses their gift), wills that don't dispose of the whole estate, wills revoked accidentally by marriage, and DIY wills that ignore jointly-owned property passing outside the will entirely. A solicitor-drafted will is checked, correctly executed, stored safely — and comes with someone to sue if it's wrong.

A will protects your family after you die. An LPA protects you while you're alive — if illness, accident or dementia leaves you unable to manage your own affairs. Without one, your family faces a slow, expensive Court of Protection deputyship application just to access your bank account or make care decisions.

There are two types, and most clients need both:

• Property & Financial Affairs LPA — bank accounts, bills, selling property
• Health & Welfare LPA — medical treatment, care decisions, where you live

We prepare and register both LPAs at a fixed fee, act as certificate provider, and make sure the forms are right first time — the Office of the Public Guardian rejects thousands of DIY applications every year.

When someone dies, we help executors and families with grant of probate applications, estate administration, and intestacy (where there's no will). You can instruct us for the grant only — a fixed-fee application where you handle the rest — or full estate administration where we deal with everything: assets, liabilities, inheritance tax forms, property sale and distribution. If you're also selling the property, our conveyancing team handles probate sales in-house — one firm, one point of contact.

The intestacy rules decide — not you. Unmarried partners inherit nothing. Stepchildren inherit nothing. A surviving spouse may have to share with children. Your estate can end up with relatives you barely know, and minor children's guardianship is left to the court. Forty-five minutes with a solicitor prevents all of it.

Buying a property is the single most common trigger for making a will — and the best time to do it. Your circumstances have just changed: new asset, new mortgage, often a new joint ownership structure. If you bought as tenants in common (many of our conveyancing clients do, especially with unequal deposits or a deed of trust), a will is what makes that structure actually work on death.

Most wills are handled with one meeting (at our Maidenhead High Street office, at your home, or by video call) followed by drafts for approval and a signing appointment. We store your original will free of charge and remind you to review it after major life events. We act for clients across Maidenhead, Windsor, Marlow, Slough, Bracknell, Henley, High Wycombe and Cookham, and by video call nationwide.

How much does a will cost?

What's the difference between mirror wills and a joint will?

Can you visit me at home?

How long does a will take?

Do you store the will?

I made a will years ago. Do I need a new one?