You get what you pay for!

I love a bargain!

I don’t mind paying full price for something, but if I see it in the sale the following day at half price I’m always going to be disappointed – who wouldn’t be.

But if I have to make the choice between paying full price now, getting it in my size, and getting the wear out of it between now and when it may (or may not) be in the sale, when they might not have it in my size or colour or at all, I’ll buy it now.

Because you get what you pay for – and by paying full price, you get full benefits!

Sometimes it might depend on how important that item is.  I’ll always use yet another pair of killer heels, but I have plenty, so I don’t mind waiting for the sale and if I can pick up a bargain that’s great, but if not, I’ll wait for next season.

On the other hand I’ll always kick myself for turning down those tickets to see Queen at Wembley, because as expensive as they were, it turns out I’d never get another chance.

You can apply the theory to many areas of life, but I’d encourage you to see spending money on legal advice as being an investment, rather than expenditure.

Last week I spoke to a lovely long standing client about whether or not she needed a will (she does) and if so, whether she should pay someone like me to do it or whether (because her affairs are quite simple) that she should simply go into a well known stationary company and pick up an off the shelf one.

I explained that the reason for legal advice is not how to do the will, it’s how to organise your affairs so that the will works.  You might say that of course I would say that, because otherwise I’m out of business.  So here’s an example of why I might have a point.

Today I was contacted by a woman who is in dispute with the authorities over alleged money laundering (I know, I get about a bit!)  She explained to me that the reason she was able to buy a two bedroom flat for cash without having done anything dodgy was because of her inheritance which she assured me I could read about in the newspapers.  I was a bit sceptical, but I did a search against her name and sure enough I came across a case from nearly 10 years ago where her father had used a bank’s will writing service to produce his will, leaving a share in his property to my potential new client.  Whilst the will itself was done correctly, the pre will advice was not done at all.  In particular, he had not been advised that because he owned his flat as joint tenants with his then wife (his daughter’s step mother) his share of the property went directly to her, and not to the daughter.  This could have been avoided if the bank had advised the deceased to sever the joint tenancy.

I have some sympathy with the bank.  Whilst there is no doubt that they were negligent (certainly based on what I’ve read – which is obviously not conclusive!) they were only charging £70 for the service.   They also argued that it was done by a division of the bank that is not regulated, so they can’t be pursued by the regulator.

Which brings me back to my original point.

No matter how simple your affairs are, you can do things cheap, or you can do it right.  You can take your chances or you can take precautions.  Ultimately it’s up to you and no one can tell you how to spend your money – in fact you can do what some people do and spend all the money so there’s nothing left to worry about!

But if you are planning to leave something for your children or grandchildren, make sure you get proper advice first, from someone who is not only experienced but also regulated.  It might seem expensive at the time but it could turn out to be your best investment ever.

Kleyman & Co Solicitors.  The full service law firm.  Where there’s a will, there’s a relative and sometimes also a negligence claim!