Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services

Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services For more information please check out our website at www.andrewdouglaswills.co.uk.

Based in Braintree, Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services provides a professional Will Writing and estate planning service for clients living in and around Essex. Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services was first established in Braintree, Essex and has looked to help clients with FREE consultations at home or at your place of business with regard to the provision of all of the Estate Planning Se

rvices that you will need. These services include the writing of Wills, the preparation of Lasting Powers of Attorney, the establishment of trusts,, Advance Directives, Pre-Paid Funeral Plans, moving Frozen Pensions and the provision of Legal Advice in and around Essex. Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services looks to meet your needs by offering a professional, plain speaking, honest, reliable and value for money service to our clients. You can also rest assured that all of our fees come with no hidden extras fee for any service(s) that Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services provide to you and is always agreed upon before we commence working for you. In addition, you can buy with confidence as Andrew Douglas Wills and Legal Services carries the industry standard £2 million Professional Indemnity Insurance for the services we provide and is also a current member of the Society of Will Writers.

In a world where you can buy a DIY Will template online for £19 or pick up a paper kit from a stationer, paying a profes...
03/09/2026

In a world where you can buy a DIY Will template online for £19 or pick up a paper kit from a stationer, paying a professional estate planner can feel like an unnecessary expense.

It’s easy to think: ""My situation is simple—I'll just fill in the blanks, sign it at the kitchen table, and save a few hundred quid.""

Here is the harsh reality:

A DIY Will is one of the most expensive things you can ever leave your family.

While professional estate planning costs a few hundred pounds upfront, a flawed DIY Will routinely costs grieving families tens of thousands of pounds in court fees, legal challenges, and unintended tax bills to fix after you’re gone.

If you live with your partner but aren't legally married or in a civil partnership, you have ZERO automatic rights to in...
02/09/2026

If you live with your partner but aren't legally married or in a civil partnership, you have ZERO automatic rights to inherit under English Intestacy Law.

It doesn't matter if you’ve lived together for 30 years.

It doesn't matter if you have three children together.

Without a Will, your partner could be forced out of the family home to satisfy statutory inheritance rules.

Do you have a ginger cat? Have you considered what happens to your pet if something happens to you?Include your wishes i...
01/09/2026

Do you have a ginger cat? Have you considered what happens to your pet if something happens to you?

Include your wishes in your will so there is no ambiguity

Today is We love memoirs dayHave you considered including a letter of wishes alongside your will to explain your decisio...
31/08/2026

Today is We love memoirs day

Have you considered including a letter of wishes alongside your will to explain your decisions? Alternatively you could write something about your life to share with your loved ones at a time of great grief

Think about how much of your life exists exclusively behind a password or a biometrics lock:Photos and family memories s...
30/08/2026

Think about how much of your life exists exclusively behind a password or a biometrics lock:

Photos and family memories stored in cloud drives.

Crypto wallets, online trading accounts, and PayPal balances.

Monetized social media channels, websites, or domain names.

Online bank accounts with paperless statements.

Now, ask yourself a critical question:

If something happened to you tomorrow, could your family actually access any of it?

For most English families, the answer is a devastating ""No.""

Millions of pounds in online assets and decades of precious family memories are permanently locked away in digital graveyards every year—simply because traditional estate planning forgot to keep up with technology.

An estate plan isn't a status symbol. It is a set of instructions that shields the people you care about most during the...
29/08/2026

An estate plan isn't a status symbol. It is a set of instructions that shields the people you care about most during the worst moments of their lives.

A complete UK estate plan ensures:

Your assets go to who you actually want (and keep ex-spouses or distant relatives out).

Your partner is fully protected regardless of marital status.

Your minor children are raised by the people you trust.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is minimized legally, keeping more money in your family's pocket instead of HMRC's.

Your affairs can be managed seamlessly if you ever lose capacity.

The expression ‘pop your clogs’ originated in the UK in or around the 1970s.The most popular theory surrounding the orig...
28/08/2026

The expression ‘pop your clogs’ originated in the UK in or around the 1970s.

The most popular theory surrounding the origin of the phrase relates to ‘pop’ being a synonym of ‘pawn”.

‘Popping’ has been used to mean pawning since the early 18th century. Clogs were once essential, so pawning them would only be done if a person had no further need of them – if they were dead.

Theory number two is that the ‘pop’ just meant ‘die’, as in ‘pop off’. ‘Pop’ has existed in the language meaning ‘die’ for several centuries.

Today is National dog day!We love our pets like another member of our family which means they should be included in our ...
26/08/2026

Today is National dog day!

We love our pets like another member of our family which means they should be included in our will!

Are your wishes included in your will?

If I had a pound for every time someone in the UK told me, ""We don’t need an estate plan—we don’t own enough stuff,"" I...
25/08/2026

If I had a pound for every time someone in the UK told me, ""We don’t need an estate plan—we don’t own enough stuff,"" I’d be writing this from a yacht in Cornwall.

It is the single most dangerous myth in UK personal finance. People hear ""estate planning"" and immediately picture Downton Abbey: 500-acre estates, family trusts holding millions in offshore accounts, and generational empires.

So when they look at their semi-detached house, an average workplace pension, and a ISA account, they assume a generic ""DIY Will"" or doing nothing at all is fine.

Here is the stark truth: Estate planning isn't about how rich you are. It’s about who gets left holding the financial and legal disaster if something happens to you.

A will is a document that only ever comes into force upon a person’s death. You therefore cannot grant powers or instruc...
24/08/2026

A will is a document that only ever comes into force upon a person’s death. You therefore cannot grant powers or instructions to be followed while you are alive within your will.

If you want to make arrangements for someone you trust to make financial and health decisions on your behalf then you should arrange a Lasting Power of Attorney to be drawn up by a solicitor.

Address

4 Conan Doyle Close
Braintree
CM71BE

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 7pm
Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 7pm

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