Is my Will legal without a date?

whydoibother

I made a will yesterday. Solicitor did not charge me for it and in the end she gave me a photocopy of the signed document. I had a look at it when I got home and realized it's not dated.
I am surprised that there is no date on the will and also that it is not stamped and the solicitor's name is not printed on the header.
This was made at a solicitor's office in Tralee and also she never asked me for any proof of ID. We had never met before and I had never used this solicitor's office before.
Just wondering can this be valid without a date or stamp? I mean, if in the future I decide to change my mind and go to a different solicitor and make a new will, how can we tell which will was the most recent when there is no date?
Thanks for your help.
Rory.

ResearchWill

It never ceases to amaze me, the one most important documents any of us will ever produce and most of us want it for free, as my granny used to say nothing is what you get for free.

I have a friend a solicitor and will making is his expertise, he charges for same, he says a good will needs at least 6 hours work, with at least 2 consultations with the client.

But if your happy to get a free one that's cool, sure you won't be around if there are any problems.

whydoibother

ResearchWill wrote: »

It never ceases to amaze me, the one most important documents any of us will ever produce and most of us want it for free, as my granny used to say nothing is what you get for free.

I have a friend a solicitor and will making is his expertise, he charges for same, he says a good will needs at least 6 hours work, with at least 2 consultations with the client.

But if your happy to get a free one that's cool, sure you won't be around if there are any problems.

I don't think you read my post correctly. I did not want this for free.
I was just trying to establish if this was in any way the normal procedure before I act upon it. And whether or not such a will is valid without a date and what consequences can come from an undated will.
I would welcome helpful (not sarcastic) comments.
Thanks.

ResearchWill

whydoibother wrote: »

I don't think you read my post correctly. I did not want this for free.
I was just trying to establish if this was in any way the normal procedure before I act upon it. And whether or not such a will is valid without a date and what consequences can come from an undated will.
I would welcome helpful (not sarcastic) comments.
Thanks.

My comments where not sarcastic, I pointed out the value of a free will. A will without a date would of course be a problem, say there is another will with a date then how can anyone tell which will is last in time and therefore the valid will. it would require evidence to be given by the solicitor as to the date of the will, what if the solicitor is dead by the time you die.


A undated will according to http://www.solicitor.ie/article.php?id=25

"An undated will is not necessarily invalid, but a witness will have to swear that the will was executed before the testator died."

BTW got the above by way of a google search, now that is scarcasam. Forgot the smiley face :-)

If I was you I would go to an expert solicitor in this area and get a will that will stand up.

whydoibother

Ok, I will, thanks.

whydoibother

ResearchWill wrote: »

BTW got the above by way of a google search, now that is scarcasam. Forgot the smiley face :-)

If I was you I would go to an expert solicitor in this area and get a will that will stand up.

You're ok, mate. We can all be sarcastic at times, can't we? BTW, the correct spelling of sarcasm is not scarcasam ;-)

Anyway, seriously now, thanks for your help! Really appreciated.

Have a good weekend!

ResearchWill

whydoibother wrote: »

You're ok, mate. We can all be sarcastic at times, can't we? BTW, the correct spelling of sarcasm is not scarcasam ;-)

Anyway, seriously now, thanks for your help! Really appreciated.

Have a good weekend!

Spelling was never my strong point.

stringy

A will, should be, not needs to be necessarily, watertight.

A solid Will can save your estate lots of money, and hopefully avoid any future litigation.

Rip up this will, instruct the solicitor to destroy the original and go see another solicitor. When you do, the new will will revoke all former wills etc.

seagull

ResearchWill wrote: »

It never ceases to amaze me, the one most important documents any of us will ever produce and most of us want it for free, as my granny used to say nothing is what you get for free.

A number of places offer the option of either naming them as the executor of the will, or paying them a fee for drawing up the will. The fact that you're not paying a fee up front does not mean that the person drawing up the will won't make money from it.

nuac

A will is an important document. Takes time to do properly.

coylemj

ResearchWill wrote: »

I have a friend a solicitor and will making is his expertise, he charges for same, he says a good will needs at least 6 hours work, with at least 2 consultations with the client.

No problem with the 'two consultations' - one to draft the will & print a copy, send the client home to think about it and make sure that he's happy with it, the second to finalise it, print it and get two clerks lined up to witness it but 6 hours work????

coylemj

ResearchWill wrote: »

If I was you I would go to an expert solicitor in this area and get a will that will stand up.

I don't get the distinction, are you suggesting that there are solicitors out there who are not 'expert' enough to draw up a will or is there such a thing as an 'expert solicitor' who specialises in wills?

Leaving aside people with vast wealth like like Dermot Desmond, Michael Smurfit, John Magnier, Tony O'Reilly etc., surely any common or garden solicitor is good enough to draw up a will for an ordinary punter with a house, a few bob in the credit union and the odd worthless share in AIB or BOI?

ComfyKnickers

whydoibother wrote: »

I made a will yesterday. Solicitor did not charge me for it and in the end she gave me a photocopy of the signed document. I had a look at it when I got home and realized it's not dated.
I am surprised that there is no date on the will and also that it is not stamped and the solicitor's name is not printed on the header.
This was made at a solicitor's office in Tralee and also she never asked me for any proof of ID. We had never met before and I had never used this solicitor's office before.
Just wondering can this be valid without a date or stamp? I mean, if in the future I decide to change my mind and go to a different solicitor and make a new will, how can we tell which will was the most recent when there is no date?
Thanks for your help.
Rory.

Ring the office back and just tell them to date it yesterday's date and send you out a fresh dated copy. I'm involved in making Wills the whole time and it's not unusual to date it after the clients have left the office, most of them don't even look for copies. If you are worried about people not knowing that you have a Will when you die then tell a good friend that you've made one in whatever office it is. If you are from the Tralee area anyway, what usually happens is that if you die, your survivors would go to a solicitor and that solicitor would write a one liner to all other solicitors in the area - do you have a Will for John Smith yes/no and the solicitors will return it. If I were you, I would definitely tell some family member you have one made. Also, you did well getting it free, most solicitors charge €100.00 plus VAT

Kosseegan

coylemj wrote: »

I don't get the distinction, are you suggesting that there are solicitors out there who are not 'expert' enough to draw up a will or is there such a thing as an 'expert solicitor' who specialises in wills?

Leaving aside people with vast wealth like like Dermot Desmond, Michael Smurfit, John Magnier, Tony O'Reilly etc., surely any common or garden solicitor is good enough to draw up a will for an ordinary punter with a house, a few bob in the credit union and the odd worthless share in AIB or BOI?

It is not so much the assets as to what the person wants to do with them is often the issue. A lot depends on the ages of the children. If they are very young elaborate mechanisms might be put in to preserve money for them. Different if it is an oul wan leaving a small house and he Post Office savings to be divided between 3 adult children.

coylemj

Kosseegan wrote: »

It is not so much the assets as to what the person wants to do with them is often the issue. A lot depends on the ages of the children. If they are very young elaborate mechanisms might be put in to preserve money for them. Different if it is an oul wan leaving a small house and he Post Office savings to be divided between 3 adult children.

Agreed but any solicitor worth his salt can deal with that situation. I was reponding to a poster who said 'If I was you I would go to an expert solicitor in this area' even though the OP made no suggestion that the estate in question had any complexity associated with it.

whydoibother

coylemj wrote: »

Agreed but any solicitor worth his salt can deal with that situation. I was reponding to a poster who said 'If I was you I would go to an expert solicitor in this area' even though the OP made no suggestion that the estate in question had any complexity associated with it.

The estate in question is a bungalow on a small site. I have no children just siblings but I am gay so I want my partner to inherit instead of my younger brothers. Not sure how solid a Civil Partnership would be and whether inheritance would apply to same sex relationships. We made wills to each other. My only concern is that should I pass away before, at least he will be protected and will have the same rights a 'normal spouse' would. Our solicitor could not enlighten us in regards to the Civil Partnership, which surprised us but then maybe thats because same sex CP really is fragile and inconclusive plus it may well be abolished at any time should the winds of power change in Ireland.