I need to draft a will. What questions should I ask about costs and timing?

Key takeaways

• Obtain the scope, exclusions, revision allowance and disbursements in writing.
• Separate today's drafting charge from future executor or estate-administration remuneration.
• Confirm whether tax, trust, business, family or foreign-asset advice is included.
• Ask who supervises signing and what happens if the testator cannot use the ordinary signature route.
• Use a milestone plan rather than relying on a promised universal completion time.

How to use this guide

Do not compare a once-off drafting price with a bundled arrangement that also nominates the provider as executor without separating the future role and cost. A low advertised price can cover a narrow template; a higher quote can include ownership analysis, tax or trust coordination, several meetings and supervised execution. Compare like with like.

1. What work does the quoted fee buy?

Ask whether the fee includes reading documents before the meeting, taking instructions, preparing an estate overview, drafting the first version, explaining clauses, making revisions and providing a clean signing version. Confirm the number or type of revisions covered and what counts as a new instruction.

Also ask whether VAT and ordinary disbursements are included, who will perform the work and whether a senior practitioner reviews a draft produced by someone else. The written quote should identify work excluded from the fixed amount and the billing basis if the scope expands.

2. Which complexity items create extra work?

List trusts, businesses, foreign assets, tax exposure, substantial debt, minor beneficiaries, dependant-support issues, a divorce or antenuptial contract, existing joint wills, capacity concerns and unusual signing arrangements. Ask which of those require a separate opinion, calculation, deed, agreement or specialist.

Do not accept an undifferentiated “estate planning” charge. Request a task list: will drafting, tax model, trust review, company or shareholder work, beneficiary-nomination review, family-law advice, foreign-law input and financial planning should be identifiable components.

3. Are consultations and revisions controlled?

Find out how long the first meeting is, what preparation is expected and whether a written advice note follows. Ask how feedback must be submitted and whether changes caused by missing facts are included. A clear instruction pack can reduce repeated meetings, but it should not be used to force an uncertain answer into the will.

Agree on who may give instructions. The testator's decisions must remain independent. A spouse, child or assistant may help gather information, but should not become the source of distribution instructions without the practitioner's informed process.

4. What is the realistic sequence?

Ask for milestones rather than one completion date:

1. receipt and conflict check;
2. instruction meeting;
3. outstanding-document or specialist stage;
4. first draft;
5. client review and questions;
6. final wording;
7. signing appointment; and
8. original custody and closing note.

For each milestone, identify the responsible person and assumptions. A draft can be produced quickly while ownership, tax or foreign-law questions remain unresolved; that does not make it ready to sign.

5. What can delay the will?

Common dependencies include an uncertain matrimonial-property position, missing divorce or trust documents, unclear asset ownership, a business agreement, incomplete beneficiary details, foreign advice, tax modelling, contested family facts or difficulty arranging competent independent witnesses.

Ask which missing item blocks drafting and which can be recorded for later confirmation. The adviser should not invent values or ownership to meet a date. Where an interim will is considered because a full plan cannot be completed, ask exactly what it covers, what it does not resolve and when it must be replaced.

6. Who handles the signing session?

The Wills Act formalities affect both time and scope. Confirm whether the provider supplies a signing checklist, supervises execution, arranges independent witnesses or merely sends a document with instructions. Ask what additional process applies if the testator signs by mark or another person signs on the testator's behalf.

If serious illness, limited mobility, language, accessibility or capacity is relevant, disclose it before the quote is accepted. Travel, attendance by a Commissioner of Oaths or suitable evidence may create additional work and cost. It should not be improvised after a defective signing.

7. Where will the original be kept?

Ask whether secure original storage is included, for how long, under what reference and how the nominated executor or trusted person can retrieve it. Confirm the process and charge for release, replacement of contact details, firm closure or transfer to another custodian.

A scan is useful for reference but does not remove the need to protect the executed original. Clarify whether multiple originals will be signed and how each will be tracked so that later revocation or destruction does not create uncertainty.

8. Is executor nomination tied to the price?

Ask whether the provider expects to be nominated as executor or to administer the estate. The Master makes the formal appointment after death; the drafting service and future administration are distinct. Request the proposed nominee, substitutes, security language and future remuneration basis in plain terms.

Do not assume “free will” means the entire arrangement is cost-free. Find out whether the drafting price depends on executor nomination, document custody, financial-product purchase or another ongoing relationship. Compare an independent drafting fee with the possible future obligations.

9. What happens after signing?

Confirm whether the price includes a completion note, storage receipt, beneficiary-nomination reminders and a scheduled review. Ask what later changes qualify for a minor update and what requires a new will or codicil with fresh formalities.

The provider should identify review triggers such as marriage, divorce, birth, death, major asset change, business restructuring, relocation or acquisition of foreign property. Record any review fee separately from the present mandate.

10. Which timing issues are genuinely urgent?

Health deterioration, a recent divorce, imminent marriage, planned travel, deployment, surgery or a known execution constraint can make prompt advice important. Explain the verified event and date. Ask what lawful minimum can be completed safely and what broader work must follow.

Urgency does not justify relaxed signing formalities or copied clauses that ignore the estate. If capacity is uncertain or influence is suspected, the professional may need an independent process even when time is short.

This article is general information, not a quotation or promise of delivery time. Fees and sequence depend on the provider's mandate and the testator's verified facts.

Additional FAQ

Should the quote include safekeeping and later amendment charges?

Ask whether original-will storage, certified copies, retrieval, delivery and future revisions are included or separately billed. The engagement should also explain who may release the original and what happens if the firm closes, moves or transfers custody.

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