A man made a will eleven years ago. Since then he has remarried, had a second child, bought a house with his wife and sold a share in a business. The document in his drawer reflects none of it and names a person he has not spoken to in six years.
He is not avoiding it. It has genuinely never occurred to him that the will was tied to a life he no longer lives.
Step 1: publish the triggers
Marriage, separation or divorce, a new child or grandchild, a death of a beneficiary or executor, buying or selling property, a business change, moving country and a significant change in assets. This list is the most effective page a wills practice can publish, because people search for the event rather than the service.
Step 2: explain that marriage matters
In many places marriage affects an existing will, and most people have no idea. A page explaining that this is something to check, without stating a rule that may not apply to their situation, prompts a great many enquiries.
Step 3: separate review from rewrite
Some changes need a small amendment and some need a new document. Explaining that both exist, and that a review establishes which, makes the first step feel small.
Step 4: price the review
A fixed fee for a review, and clear pricing for an amendment or a new will. People put this off because they imagine an open-ended bill.
Step 5: capture what has changed
What prompted the enquiry, roughly when the existing will was made, whether they have it, whether circumstances have changed and whether anyone named has died. That is enough for a practitioner to advise on the first call.
Step 6: never say what the will should do
Who should inherit, whether an arrangement works and what happens under current rules are all advice. The website explains the service and the process.
Step 7: prompt existing clients
A practice holding wills for hundreds of clients has a list of people whose circumstances have almost certainly changed. A periodic reminder is a service and a reliable source of work.
Step 8: handle executor questions
People named as executors contact firms with their own questions, often after a death, which runs into probate questions from families after a death.
Step 9: explain storage and retrieval
Where the original is held, how to retrieve it, what happens if the firm holds it and what to do if nobody can find it. This generates real contact and is entirely publishable.
Step 10: keep the tone light for reviews
Unlike most estate work, a review is a piece of admin rather than a bereavement. Treating it as straightforward encourages people who have been avoiding the whole subject.
Step 11: first-time enquiries need more care
They are covered in will writing enquiries that need a gentle first step.
Step 12: capture whenever it occurs to them
People think about this after a family event, in the evening, which is the pattern in after-hours emergency triage for any practice, and the prompt to review something outdated works much like redesign enquiries from businesses with tired websites.
Getting started
Publish the triggers, your review fee and what a review involves, then capture the change at any hour. SpideyChat for law firms answers from your published pages and never advises on a will. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.