A soldier on active service can make a valid will by word of mouth, without witnesses or any of the usual formalities, under a rule that dates from the Wills Act of 1837 and still applies. It is a comfort in an emergency and a poor substitute for a proper will, which is why the Army encourages everyone deploying from the Plain to make one, and why will solicitors in Salisbury see a steady stream of young service personnel, often with a partner they are not married to, a child, a death-in-service benefit to nominate and nothing else on paper. The intestacy rules give an unmarried partner nothing; a will costs little and fixes that.
The civilian work is that of a prosperous cathedral city and its valleys. Farms and estates along the Avon, Nadder and Wylye, and the family firms of Salisbury itself, need succession plans now that agricultural and business reliefs from inheritance tax are being reduced, and the trusts that hold land for the next generation need reviewing. Retired couples in Harnham, the villages and the Close want wills that protect a surviving spouse, lifetime gifts to grandchildren, and lasting powers of attorney for finance and for health and welfare, made while they are well; without them, relatives face a Court of Protection application that takes months. Legacies to the cathedral, the hospice and the forces charities are common.
Probate follows with the same firms: valuing land and houses, claiming the reliefs, settling with HMRC and distributing, while the armed forces pension and death-in-service benefits sit outside the estate if the nominations were made. Wills and powers of attorney are fixed-fee; probate is fixed, hourly or a percentage, so ask.
Wills and probate firms serving Salisbury are listed below, verified ones first. Read wills, trusts and probate explained, how much a will costs, what a lasting power of attorney is and the general will solicitors guide.
