Law firm launches digital wills portal

Monday 04 February 2019

Ogier has launched an online portal for islanders to draft their wills digitally.

The new service uses an online questionnaire to prepare a draft will, which is then reviewed by a Jersey Advocate before a face-to-face meeting for final review and signature.

The process is less expensive, quicker and runs at a client's pace by allowing them to gather all the information they need.

The firm say the process will also prompt clients to think about funeral wishes and digital legacies (social media accounts and photos, documents and music stored online), which do not always form part of a traditional will.

Pictured: Advocate Julie Melia, Partner at Ogier and head of the firm's probate and estates practice.

Advocate Julie Melia, a Partner in Ogier's Jersey team and the head of the firm's probate and estates practice, commented: "Putting together a will doesn’t need to be complex or costly, and this new service lets people do the bulk of the decision making in their own time, while giving them the reassurance of having a Jersey Advocate review all of the documents with them when they are ready.

"Making a will is an important thing to do, and Jersey law is very different to the law of England & Wales in this area. Our clients have the reassurance that we have a legal team who are experts in Jersey law on probate and estates who will help them to ensure that their wishes are reflected and will be carried out.

"No-one likes thinking about their own mortality, but this really is a straightforward way of making sure that at a very difficult time, your family will know, very clearly, what you had decided should happen to your assets, and have the comfort of knowing that your wishes are being carried out."