James Antoniou is Head of Wills and a Senior Solicitor at Co-op Legal Services in Bristol.
As Head of the Wills legal practice, James is responsible for the Wills and Lasting Power of Attorney writing team from both an operational and commercial perspective. James has considerable experience in all aspects of private client law having spent many years representing a broad spectrum of clients including high net worth individuals and lottery winners.
His expertise covers a wide range of advice on Wills, Probate, Lasting Power of Attorney, Tax and Trusts and related succession issues. James has been ranked in the two major legal directories, Chambers and Partners and Legal 500, as a leader in his field and, earlier in his career, he was named as one of the Top 35 under 35 Private Client practitioners in the country.
The dust is slowly starting to settle after the MOJ’s announcement to introduce the virtual witnessing of wills. It has certainly been fascinating to read the spectrum of views from across the profession, some lauding
In short, yes, it’s possible for a homemade, handwritten Will to be legal in England and Wales, provided that it has been properly drafted and meets the legal requirements. There are, however, potential issues to