Will writing, LPAs and probate in Hawkhurst
Personal, professional estate planning across Hawkhurst and the surrounding villages — at your kitchen table, on your schedule.
Hawkhurst is a substantial Wealden village on the Kent–East Sussex border, mid-way between Cranbrook and Robertsbridge. From my base I regularly visit clients in Sandhurst, and Flimwell. The signing visit is included in the quoted price wherever you are on that list — there's no extra travel charge for the smaller villages.
I'm Emma Wrigley — a law graduate with over 20 years in the legal sector — and I set up Kent Legacy Planning because estate planning should fit around your life, not the other way around. The conversations I have with clients happen mostly on the phone, at whatever time of day suits you, and the signing happens over a cup of tea at your own kitchen table — evenings and weekends if that's what works, with no office visits and no rushed appointments.
Services available in Hawkhurst
Every fee is quoted in writing before you commit, and will and LPA prices include a signing visit to your home in Hawkhurst or the surrounding villages.
Wills & related documents
Will Writing
From £225
A will drafted from scratch for your circumstances, signed and witnessed properly at your own kitchen table.
Read more →Mirror Wills for Couples
£400 per couple
A coordinated pair of wills for a couple whose wishes broadly match, drafted together so they agree with each other.
Read more →Trust Wills
Price on consultation
Ringfence your share of the family home so your partner can go on living there and your children still inherit it.
Read more →Letter of Wishes
£35 with a will / £85 standalone
The personal guidance that sits alongside your will — funeral preferences, bequests, and notes for guardians.
Read more →Will Review
£95
A read-through of the will you already have, whoever wrote it, and an honest answer on whether it still works.
Read more →Codicils
From £125
A signed, witnessed addition to an existing will, where the change is straightforward enough not to need a new one.
Read more →Powers of attorney & health decisions
Lasting Powers of Attorney
From £275 (plus OPG fees)
Let people you trust make health or financial decisions for you if you ever can't make them yourself.
Read more →LPA Reviews & Revocations
From £95
Check, change or revoke a registered LPA that no longer says what you need it to say.
Read more →General Power of Attorney
From £195
Financial authority for someone who has capacity now — a spell abroad, a stay in hospital, a property sale.
Read more →Advance Decision (Living Will)
£195 one person / £300 per couple
A written, legally binding refusal of specified medical treatment, so your wishes are known if you cannot say them.
Read more →Probate & estate administration
Executor & Estate Review
£195
What the will means, what you actually have to do, and whether a grant of probate is needed at all.
Read more →Estate Administration Support
Quoted for the work agreed
Help with as much or as little of an administration you're running yourself.
Read more →Comprehensive Estate Administration
From £2,500
Everything from registering the death to distributing the estate, apart from the Grant application, which stays with the executor.
Read more →Other documents
A recent client near Hawkhurst
“Emma made the whole process so much easier than I'd expected. She came out to the house in Hawkhurst one evening after work, talked us through the will in plain English, and brought a witness back for the signing — all over a cup of tea at our kitchen table.”
Will writing and estate planning in Hawkhurst
Hawkhurst is a village of real mixed character — long-established Wealden families and retired property-owners alongside a steady flow of commuter households who’ve moved out from London — and a well-drafted will matters just as much to one group as the other. Whether you’re sitting on a family home that’s been in your name for forty years or you’ve just bought your first place in Sandhurst or Flimwell, the same basic question applies: when the time comes, who inherits what, and how do you make sure your wishes are followed without leaving your family a mess to sort out?
A professionally drafted will does three things a template kit can’t. It expresses your wishes clearly enough that no one has to guess at what you meant; it stands up to the legal scrutiny that follows a death; and it uses the right trust and tax structures for your circumstances rather than a generic one-size-fits-all clause. For most Hawkhurst households the family home is the largest single asset, which means the will isn’t just about who gets the dining-room furniture — it’s about safeguarding the property that represents most of the inheritance.
The scenarios where a careful will makes the biggest difference are usually these:
- Couples with children from earlier relationships, where each partner needs to be sure their own children inherit the share they intended.
- Parents of young children, who want to name guardians and set up a sensible trust structure so an inheritance doesn’t land in a teenager’s lap on their eighteenth birthday.
- Older homeowners with substantial Wealden property, where the value of the estate means inheritance tax planning and clear executor instructions genuinely matter.
Both a single will and a pair of mirror wills for a couple are charged as a flat fee, fixed and quoted in writing before you commit to anything rather than billed by the hour — and that fee includes a free phone consultation, a questionnaire and follow-up calls to take your instructions properly, careful drafting tailored to your circumstances, and a signing appointment at your home with proper witnessing. The signing visit is included; there’s no extra charge for evenings or weekends. A letter of wishes — the personal document that guides your executors on funeral preferences and personal bequests — can be prepared alongside your will for a small additional fee. We’ll work through everything at your own pace, and you’ll have plain-English drafts to read through before anyone signs anything.
Questions from Hawkhurst clients
Which villages around Hawkhurst do you cover?
I cover Hawkhurst itself along with Sandhurst and Flimwell, and I'm happy to visit the smaller hamlets and farms between them too. The signing visit is included in the quoted price wherever you are in the catchment — there's no separate travel charge for clients in the outlying lanes. If you're not certain whether your address falls inside the area I usually cover, give me a call and we can check before you commit to anything. In practice I rarely turn down a visit on geography alone.
Why does a properly drafted will matter for Hawkhurst homeowners?
Hawkhurst sits in a stretch of the Weald where most family homes have appreciated well above the national average, which means even a modest-looking estate can run into inheritance tax questions or disputes if the will is unclear. A professionally drafted will sets out exactly who inherits, names guardians for any children, and includes the trust and tax provisions that shop-bought templates simply don't cover. It's the difference between leaving your family a clear instruction and leaving them an argument.
Do you offer evening or weekend appointments in Hawkhurst?
Yes — I'm available seven days a week, including evenings, and there's no extra charge for out-of-hours visits. A lot of my clients in Hawkhurst, Sandhurst and Flimwell prefer an appointment after work, and weekends suit families who want a son or daughter present for the conversation. I'll happily come out on a Sunday morning if that's the only time that works. The whole point of coming to you is that the signing fits around your week, not the other way around.
How long does it take to get a will drafted and signed?
For a straightforward will I aim to turn the draft around within a week of getting your completed questionnaire back, and we usually book the signing visit a few days after that so you've had time to read it through carefully. More complex wills — trusts, blended families, business interests — take a little longer, but I'll always give you a realistic timeframe at the consultation. If something is genuinely urgent, perhaps because of ill health, I can prioritise the drafting and arrange a signing within days.
I'm helping an elderly parent in Sandhurst or Flimwell — can you visit them at home?
Of course. The questions come on paper and over the phone, so there's no formal appointment for an older relative to sit through, and then I come out to sign at home — which matters for anyone with mobility difficulties. I'm very happy for family members to sit in if that's helpful, and I can coordinate around children or grandchildren travelling in from further afield. Whether your parent is in the village itself, out towards Sandhurst, or tucked away near Flimwell, there's no extra charge for the visit and no pressure to decide anything on the day.
What does it cost to get everything sorted in one go?
Most couples choose the Complete Peace of Mind Package — mirror wills, both types of LPA for both partners, and letters of wishes. That's six professionally drafted documents in one process, and it works out cheaper than arranging each piece separately. I'll give you the exact figure on our first phone call, and OPG registration fees are payable separately to the government.