Twenty-eight page will?

[Marlburian]

In 2000 a solicitor drew up a double-spaced 28-page will for me when my estate consisted of a house and a dozen investments, all easily cashed in. Two of the pages contained my personal wishes, the rest was copy-&-paste legalese that dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" imaginable. (Two of those pages include a Table of Contents comprising 50+ entries.) Six years later, my father died, leaving similar investments but no property; he'd been the beneficiary of a large family trust. His will, also double-spaced, ran to 1 1/4 pages. My wish, then and now, is that when I die for my investments to be cashed in ASAP and the proceeds distributed to a dozen beneficiaries.

I appreciate that professionals would want to ask a few questions of me before giving a specific answer (which I do not seek), but in general terms how often does a will have to run to 28 pages?

[des8]

28 page will....bit verbose

My simplistic suggestion (which I note you not seeking) is a new will, so automatically cancelling the novel

[Marlburian]

That's what I'm doing. Just noticed that at the moment my trustees can remove or appoint discretionary beneficiaries. In my ignorance I don't like the sound of that. Several of the existing beneficiaries could be seen as somewhat louche and one of my executors might disapprove..

[EnglandPi]

And my question (which you do not seek) is, how many executors did the will have and why?

[Marlburian]

Two personal ones: my cousin and a best friend (recently deceased) - and "the partners at the time of my death in the firm [of solicitors who drew up the will]". Back in 2000 the two personal executors were all I could muster: the cousin was in a very high-pressure job, my best friend would have been out of her depth, hence my including the solicitors.

[Marlburian]

I continue to look through the 28-page epic and to consider what I want in a new Will. Twenty years ago I thought it a little strange that the solicitor put the important stuff - the actual bequests - into a Letter of Wishes. Back in 2000 I was extremely new to PCs and the Internet but having spent an hour or two today Googling, I cannot help but feel that the solicitor's action seems curious, leaving rather too much power in the hands of my trustees and executors as to how my estate should be distributed.

[EnglandPi]

A solicitor will only obey your wishes, If you don't understand what's written you should ask for an explaination.

[ostell]

Unless there are many bequests then it should be within 2 pages.