Very last minute wills.

Goodness, she has put you in a difficult position. It would be so much easier and less contentious to use her previous firm of solicitors. Surely everyone in the firm doesn't have a family connection? Solicitors are also legally bound to keep everything of this nature confidential. They are not even allowed to say that Mrs X is a client.
Solicitors make far more money trying to sort out badly worded wills after you're dead than they do drafting one in the first place.
I hope all of you on here have an up to date will - especially if you are not married to your partner. Don't trust your family - or his - to do the right thing after you are gone.
Lecture over!!

I too am glad that you are not being drawn in, and hope your friend sorts it out so she can be peaceful for her last days.
Just for information for others: health professionals can witness wills from a legal point of view, as can anyone; but our professional organisations caution against doing so.

Thank you GSM.
I hope she gets it sorted out. It does seem to be concerning her greatly.

It’s good news that you won’t be drawn into any dispute. My very best wishes to your friend. If there is to be no reprieve I hope her passing is peaceful and without pain. Also that her mind as regards her will is properly at rest.

I seem to have been let off the hook.
I was probably perceived to be dragging my feet.
I did keep trying to find a way for her to get it all done quickly and legally but failed. A couple of other friends are on the case now. I hope they succeed.
Thanks to all of you.

I have to agree that I’d never make amendments to my will without consulting my solicitor and this is somewhat complicated by the fact that this poor soul is terminally unwell and may not be of sound mind for a number of reasons incl medication, knowing she is dying and the actual disease itself. Bless you though for trying so hard to help your friend

Just to add that I had a problem, not with a will but to do with burial rights.
I needed my father who was in hospital receiving palliative care to sign a document which needed to be witnessed. The nursing staff were not allowed to witness any paperwork however the Dr, was and did countersign for me.
Please use a Solicitor due to the problems that can and do occur with home- made wills.

I’m so sorry about your friend. Please please do not suggest to her about anyone but a Solicitor doing her Will as I know only too well of the complications that causes. Most Solicitors will visit a patient at end of life in hospital, my own Mother had one visit her about 8 years ago in hospital. I just googled it in her area and phoned until I got one. I wasn’t allowed to be there at the time so I waited outside the ward, my Mother was quite happy with the solicitor I found.
My DB sadly passed away 5 months ago and unfortunately got a notary in the States to do his will and to cut a long story short it’s been horrendous for my niece trying to deal with the Notary even though it’s been signed by 3 people and stamped. If my DB would have known in advance what his DD would have to do to get his estate settled he would have definitely got himself a good Lawyer! I cannot stress strongly enough how important this is for your friend.

With all due respect, a social worker in my opinion would not be the right approach as they would not know the patients medical history and therefore would only be able to assess the person judged on how they appear at a given time. Any number of things can affect mental capacity in the short term such as medication or a water infection, consequently there would be a risk of misdiagnosis and I very much doubt anything other than a professional medical diagnosis would be considered as valid.

She absolutely should use a solicitor. I suggest you try to convince her to instruct the original solicitors to make the changes. It will be so much easier and quicker as they will have all of the necessary information to hand. She shouldn’t worry about the connection with her relatives. If it’s a reputable firm then they are duty bound to operate in their clients best interest and cannot/should not get involved in personal disputes, or betray confidentiality irrespective of their connection to anyone who may be a named beneficiary. There is every possibility she may require proof of mental capacity before she can make any changes to her existing will, in which case the solicitor will contact her GP if deemed necessary. In light of her deteriorating health the solicitor should visit her while she is in hospital.
I hope this helps. Having been through something similar myself I know how stressful it can be and that’s something I’m sure she doesn’t need at this point in her life. Sending healing prayers to you and your friend 🙏🏽

The hospital should have both a social worker and a chaplain, either of whom can phone for a solicitor for your friend.

It is still I believe legal to buy a form to make out a will on, although perhaps if it is only minor changes codicils rather than an entirely new will would do.

Legally we all can draw up our wills and have our signature, while we actually sign the document witnessed by two witnesses, who must be of age and not benificiaries of the will.

If your friend chooses this path, she can start that being of sound mind and with her end approaching due to cancer, she herwith revokes all previous wills she has made, then states what she wants done with her property and with regards to funeral arrangements.

However there is an old saying that the solicitor who draws his own will has a fool for a client. I imagine it must apply even more to all those of us who are not lawyers.

Any nurse in an oncology ward should be able to put you in touch with either a solicitor, or the local registrar, if he/she is competent in this matter.

Do remember that Scottish and English law differ on many points, and if you are not in the UK send for a public notary!

Hence my comment that the changes will be contentious - wanting to make the will before going home and not wanting to use the family solicitor.

Magrithea
Her solicitors are family!

Surely the solicitors who drew up her original will would be able to do it and not pass on any information to the family (aren't they bound not to??). It's her own wishes that are important but if there is an existing will then it must be simpler to add to or alter that one and her solicitors will know what to do.

Keffie it all sounds so complicated, I would be terrified of making a mistake, I’ll look at your links tomorrow as I have DGS with me at the moment and I think I will be exhausted by tonight. We are off rockpooling when the tide goes out.
I have passed on the information to my friend, whose brain seems as sharp as ever, so she can explore the possibilities.
She has spoken to someone at the hospital now so I am hoping that it can be sorted out without me.

Note to everyone - you never know when your time may run out. Get it sorted now!
Thanks for everyone’s input

You may have a ‘legal background’ *Keffie, whatever that means, but your advice is dangerous. I’m a retired solicitor. Do you not know that solicitors make far more money from sorting out the mistakes in people’s home-made wills - mistakes that a lay person doesn’t recognise - than from drafting them? Using a template is absolutely no guarantee of not making costly mistakes - but you need to be a lawyer to recognise them. And with obviously contentious changes to the existing will made by a terminally ill person with ‘help’ from a friend, there’s already the threat of litigation in the wings.

I thought codicil had to be witnessed by two people and not mentioned in will?

My brother has been recently diagnosed with memory loss. He made his own mind up about what he wants and has told me the name of his solicitor if anything happens in the future, I thought this was very responsible of him as it’s hard to do.so sorry about your friend.

No she doesn't need a solicitor. I have a legal background. You name it as a Codicil as its a small amount of info added on the end of her will.

Alternatively a new will can be typed up by you and signed by her and 2 other witnesses who aren't benefactors of the will. It must be dated too.

You must ensure there are no mistakes in the will and it clearly states that it revokes all other wills and testimonies.

If its a Codicil then it's an add on so doesn't need signatures

Some links here will help you

This one is to making a new will including the template form. It is perfectly legal if it's done correctly

www.lawdepot.co.uk/contracts/last-will-and-testament-uk/

This last one is to the gov.uk website on this

www.gov.uk/make-will#:~:text=You%20can%20write%20your%20will,or%20make%20a%20new%20will.

Don’t even think about a home-made codicil to the will.

She could sign a codicil to her will. You could print up but need/should to get two other people to witness her signing same. Otherwise if minor matters, she could compose a 'letter of wishes' which only needs to be signed and dated by herself. It is not legally binding but subject to the discretion of the executor(s). My mother had one for directing how contents/possessions to be distributed and also had three bequests included (two charities and a carer). She also surprised us all with request as to what to do with her ashes.

The hospital should have Social Workers and they will be able to test Capacity under the Care Act. My Uncle had a solicitor visit the hospital to do his Will. My other Uncle didn't (he was a solicitor himself) and we have spent the last umpteen years trying to sort out his complicated estate as his mind was obviously addled by the cancer.

There's also the charities - Age UK etc, who might be able to help, but I would have thought there would be someone in the hospital who could advise. Citizen's Advice Bureau is another thought.
Good luck, and my sympathy for you and your friend.

I was hoping you would come on GSD
I have just sent her information about PALS and a contact no. for Macmillan.
I’m sure the hospital must have been faced with this sort of problem before and probably have a firm that they know of.

It’s so difficult when this sort of help is asked for totally out of the blue. I want to be as helpful as possible without compromising anyone or anything.

I agree - the changes sound contentious and she may not be thinking clearly due to her illness and medication. A solicitor is essential. This is not something you can do yourself. Don’t get involved beyond arranging for a solicitor to visit her. I don’t think doctors and nurses would be allowed to witness signature of documents and it would be most unfair to ask them as they would end up getting drawn into the arguments and possibly litigation that may well arise from this.