Free guide · a making-a-will checklist

What to tell your will-writer.

A will appointment goes faster, costs less, and goes wrong less often when you arrive with the right information already in hand. This is what to bring, know, and have decided — so the professional can draft, not discover.

The checklist How Valoren works

Why it pays to arrive prepared

Most of a will-writer's first appointment is spent gathering facts you already hold — who your people are, what you own, who you'd want to act. Time spent discovering is time billed. Arrive with it organised and the conversation moves straight to the decisions only a professional can guide.

Arrive prepared. Let the professional draft, not discover.

This is a preparation guide, not legal advice. It helps you assemble the information a will-writer needs — it does not tell you what your will should say. The drafting decisions belong to a qualified solicitor or will-writer.

What to bring and know

Six things to have in hand before the appointment. Bring what exists and what you've decided — the professional turns it into a valid will.

The people

Full names, addresses and dates of birth of everyone you want to benefit — and how each is related to you. Spelling and current addresses matter; a will-writer can't chase them for you.

Your executors

Who you'd like to administer your estate — most people name two, plus a substitute. Come with names and contact details, and ideally having asked them first.

Guardians for children

If you have children under 18, who you'd want to raise them. The appointment is made in the will — arrive with the names, and the conversation already had.

What you own

The shape of your estate: property, bank, savings and investment accounts, pensions, life policies, business interests. The writer needs to know what exists — not exact figures.

The complications

Flag these early: a business, assets abroad, a blended family, an unmarried partner, an existing trust, or a beneficiary who is vulnerable or means-tested. They change how a will is drafted.

Personal items that matter

Sentimental possessions and who you hope receives them. Most belong in a Letter of Wishes rather than the will — but mention anything financially significant so it's handled correctly.

Valoren assembles all of this from the records you already hold — the people, the accounts, the property, the policies — into one preparation sheet you can take to the appointment. Start free, or read the Letter of Wishes guide for the context that sits beside the will.

III

Questions to ask the professional

Preparation gets you to the appointment ready. These are the questions worth asking once you're there — the parts only they can answer.

Should this go in my will, or in a Letter of Wishes?

Is my estate likely to face inheritance tax — and can the will help?

Do any of my assets or beneficiaries need a trust?

Does my situation (business, assets abroad, a blended family) need anything special?

How should the will be stored, and how will my executors find it?

When should I review or update it?

What to leave to the professional

Preparation is yours. Drafting is theirs. Don't try to settle these on your own before you have advice — getting them wrong is what makes a will fail or get contested:

The exact legal wording of who inherits what
Whether to create a trust, and on what terms
How to word an unequal gift or an exclusion
The tax structure of your estate
Anything involving a business, foreign assets, or a vulnerable beneficiary

How Valoren helps

Valoren keeps the records a will-writer asks for — your people, your accounts, your property, your policies, your wishes — in one consistent place, and composes them into a preparation sheet you can take to the appointment. You walk in organised; the professional spends the hour advising, not gathering.

Valoren helps you prepare the information. A qualified professional drafts the will.

Start free — 90 seconds The Letter of Wishes guide

A solicitor or will-writer? Clients who arrive prepared make your first meeting a second meeting. Valoren for professionals

Questions, answered plainly

No. You need to know what exists — the property, the accounts, the policies, the business — not precise figures.

The shape of your estate is enough to brief a will-writer well; valuations come later if they're needed.

A will makes the legal decisions — who inherits, who acts, who is guardian.

A Letter of Wishes carries the context and preferences around those decisions. This page is about arriving at the will appointment prepared; the Letter of Wishes sits alongside the finished will.

Both can prepare a will. A regulated solicitor is the safer choice where things are complex — a business, assets abroad, a blended family, a trust, or a likely inheritance-tax position.

For a straightforward estate, a qualified will-writer may be enough. Either way, arriving prepared shortens the work.

Yes, if you're updating one.

Bring the current will (and any codicils), and note what has changed since — a marriage, divorce, birth, death, house move, or a new asset — as those are the most common reasons a will needs revisiting.

No. Valoren helps you prepare the information and the questions — a qualified professional drafts the will.

Preparation is what we do; the legal drafting is theirs.

The professional should advise. The family should not arrive empty-handed.

Assemble what your will-writer needs, once, and keep it current. Walk into the appointment ready.

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