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SWR Wills

Wills, probate and later-life planning

SWR Wills is Steven Robinson's private client practice, working alongside Atom Mortgages. Wills, lasting power of attorney, estate planning and probate support, with free home visits across Essex and East London.

A sister practice

The same adviser, the other half of the picture

Most people meet Steven through a mortgage. Getting the mortgage right protects the roof while you are here. A will decides what happens to it afterwards, and the two questions belong together far more often than people realise.

SWR Wills handles that second half. It is the same person you already deal with, so nothing has to be explained twice.

A small team talking around a meeting table
What we do

Everything that decides what happens next

Eight services covering the whole of later-life and estate planning. Most clients start with a will and a lasting power of attorney, then add the rest over time.

Wills

A properly drafted will that says who gets what, who looks after your children, and who carries it out. Single wills and mirror wills for couples.

Probate and estate administration

Support for families dealing with an estate after a death, from valuing assets to distributing what is left.

Lasting Power of Attorney

Property and financial affairs, and health and welfare. Put in place while you still have capacity, because afterwards is too late.

Living wills

An advance decision recording the medical treatment you would refuse, so your family are never left guessing on your behalf.

Pre-paid funeral plans

Fixing the cost of a funeral at today's prices and taking the arrangements off your family at the worst possible moment.

Estate and tax planning

Structuring what you leave behind so more of it reaches the people you intended and less is lost along the way.

Severance of tenancy

Converting a joint tenancy into tenants in common, so each of you can leave your share of the property to whoever you choose.

Trusts

Protecting assets for children, vulnerable beneficiaries or a second family, and keeping a share of the home out of reach where that matters.

Free home visits

Steven comes to you, at a time that suits, anywhere across the SS, CM, RM and IG postcodes. No office appointment and no charge for the visit.

How we work

We come to you, and the visit is free

Nobody enjoys sitting in an office discussing their own death. It is a conversation that goes far better at your own kitchen table, with a cup of tea and the paperwork you already have to hand.

SSCMRMIG

Southend, Chelmsford, Romford and Ilford postcodes, covering Essex and East London. Evening appointments are available if daytimes are difficult.

  • No charge for the visitThe first appointment costs nothing and carries no obligation to proceed.
  • No jargonPlain English throughout. If something is not clear, we have not explained it properly yet.
  • Fixed fees, agreed firstYou know what it costs before any work starts. Confirm the fee scale before go live.
  • Couples seen togetherMirror wills, joint lasting powers of attorney and severance of tenancy all handled in one visit.
A warm and welcoming family home interior
Standards

A member of the Society of Will Writers

Will writing is not a reserved legal activity, so anyone may lawfully offer it and plenty of people do. SWW membership is the voluntary standard that separates a professional practice from someone with a template. Membership is not optional to maintain, it is audited annually.

Two million in cover

Members must hold professional indemnity insurance of at least £2 million with an approved insurer, and prove it to the Society every year. Unregulated will writers are not required to hold any at all.

A binding code of practice

Members are bound by the SWW Code of Practice and its complaints and disciplinary procedures. The Society can order errors put right at no cost, or financial loss made good.

Audited annual training

Twenty four hours of continuing professional development every year, with sixteen structured hours evidenced at the annual audit. Membership lapses without it.

The Society of Will Writers is a self-regulatory trade body, not a statutory regulator. It does not confer FCA authorisation or the right to carry out reserved legal activities.

Why it matters

What happens if you do not leave a will

Dying without a will in England or Wales does not mean your family decides. It means the intestacy rules decide, using a fixed formula set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925. The result surprises most people.

Unmarried partners get nothing

However long you lived together. A partner of thirty years has no automatic claim at all, and no automatic right to stay in the home.

The estate splits by formula

With a spouse and children, the spouse takes the personal possessions, the first £322,000, then half of what is left. The children share the other half.

Stepchildren are excluded

A child you raised from infancy but never legally adopted inherits nothing. The estate passes to biological children only.

Statutory legacy of £322,000 applies in England and Wales, in force since 26 July 2023 and unchanged for 2026/27. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate rules.

How it works

Three steps, and the first one is free

Step 01

We come to you

A free home visit at a time that suits. We go through your family, your property, who you want to provide for and anything that complicates it.

Step 02

We draft and you check

You get the draft to read in your own time. Nothing is signed until you are satisfied it says exactly what you meant.

Step 03

Signing and safe storage

We handle correct signing and witnessing, which is where most home-made wills fail, then arrange secure storage and tell you where the copies are.

Good to know

Common questions

How much does a will cost?
It depends on whether it is a single will or mirror wills for a couple, and how complicated your situation is. Trusts, business interests and blended families all take more work than a straightforward estate. You get a fixed price before any work starts. PLACEHOLDER, add the actual fee scale before go live.
Do I really need a solicitor to write a will?
No. Will writing is not a reserved legal activity in England and Wales, so it can lawfully be carried out by a specialist will writer as well as by a solicitor. What matters far more is that whoever drafts it understands your circumstances and gets the signing and witnessing right, because that is where most home-made wills fail.
What is a lasting power of attorney and when should I set one up?
It lets someone you trust make decisions for you if you lose the capacity to make them yourself. There are two types, one for property and financial affairs and one for health and welfare. The critical point is that you can only make one while you still have capacity. Once capacity is lost, your family faces a Court of Protection application instead, which is slower and far more expensive.
What is severance of tenancy and why would I want it?
If you own a property as joint tenants, your share passes automatically to the other owner when you die, whatever your will says. Severing the tenancy converts it to tenants in common, so each of you owns a defined share and can leave it to whoever you choose. It matters most for second marriages and where you want to protect a share for children from an earlier relationship.
What is a living will?
Properly called an advance decision to refuse treatment. It records the medical treatment you would not want in specific circumstances, so the decision is not left to your family at the worst possible moment. It is legally binding on medical staff where it is valid and applies to the situation.
Can you help after someone has died?
Yes. We support families through estate administration, including valuing assets, dealing with the paperwork and distributing the estate. Note that preparing the papers to found a grant of probate is a reserved legal activity, so where that step is needed it is carried out by, or referred to, an authorised person. CONFIRM the exact arrangement before go live.
Important. Cover is subject to underwriting, the policy terms and the exclusions that apply. If you stop paying premiums the cover will end.
Get in touch

Book a free home visit

No charge, no obligation, and no need to come to us. Covering the SS, CM, RM and IG postcodes across Essex and East London.

SWR Wills, 1 Burnt Oak Lodge, 711 London Road, Hadleigh, Benfleet, Essex SS7 2EE