I’ve written 30,000 wills — these are the strangest requests

A mates who group up their ain will penning institution person told of each nan strangest requests they person received – including being paid successful crabs.

Robert and Gill Phipps group up Pembroke Will Writers successful 2000 pinch a second-hand laptop and printer successful nan eating room of their home.

A 4th of a period and 30,000 wills later, they person astir apt seen and heard it each – from requests pinch nary ineligible base to families challenging what loved ones had wanted.

In 1 of nan strangest encounters complete nan years, nan family-run institution based successful Gillingham, Kent, opportunity they were paid for their services pinch a unrecorded crab.

Robert, aged 62, said: “I had a customer who couldn’t salary me, but we ever talked astir seafood, truthful he gave maine a immense unrecorded crab arsenic portion of nan payment.

“It had elastic bands astir its claws. I felt truthful bad for it, truthful I drove it down to Sharp’s Green successful Gillingham and released it into nan sea.

“I was worried personification mightiness deliberation I was up to thing suspicious, truthful I really called nan constabulary to fto them know.

“I said ‘If anyone reports personification acting suspicious, it’s conscionable me, putting a crab backmost into nan sea.’”

Because of customer confidentiality, Robert said he can’t spell into excessively galore details, but says it’s often tricky to wed people’s requests pinch what is legally possible.

For example, he erstwhile had a mom who wanted to guarantee her sons didn’t walk their inheritance connected “fast cars and accelerated women”.

He said: “Who defines accelerated women? I tried to explicate that you can’t really put that successful a will. All what will hap is there’ll beryllium endless tribunal arguments complete what counts arsenic a ‘fast car’ aliases ‘fast woman’.

“We ever show clients not to norm from nan grave; if you’re leaving money, it’s amended to spot group to usage it wisely.”

While astir wills impact comparatively humble sums, Robert and Gill, 61, person dealt pinch immoderate awesome arrangements, including “someone from London” who had complete $108 cardinal to leave.

At nan different extremity of nan scale, location are often issues arising pinch recipients not being happy aliases wholly truthful astir their circumstances.

For example, personification asked to person their inheritance paid into their sister’s slope account, moreover though nan rule required nan costs to spell straight to them.

Robert added: “It was apt they were connected benefits and didn’t want nan money to spell into their ain relationship for fearfulness of losing those benefits. But you person to salary nan inheritance straight to them.”

Over their years successful nan manufacture nan family-run business person besides seen respective cases of group disagreeing pinch their loved ones wishes.

Robert said: “It’s becoming much and much regular since nan pandemic. Because of changing circumstances, group person been hopeless for money, truthful they’ll situation a will erstwhile they cognize they’ve sewage nary existent chance of winning. We’ve ne'er had 1 challenged and won.”

Before starting nan institution Robert did a stint successful nan Royal Navy, which he joined astatine 16, and 11 years arsenic a Kent policeman, earlier becoming a financial advisor.

It was communal to woody pinch group who’d made nary arrangements for their deaths, truthful he started thinking.

He said: “I thought it’d beryllium a bully thought if we could urge somebody, truthful I said to my wife’s relative successful Norfolk, who wrote wills, and asked whether we could urge him.

“He said ‘no’ because he was miles away, but suggested we did it ourselves pinch his help.”

The Falklands seasoned joined nan Institute of Professional Will Writers and has passed various courses complete nan years to summation nan qualifications needed.

Robert says that his clip successful nan navy and constabulary helped train him connected really to enactment calm while talking to those who mislaid loved ones- which now comes successful handy.

The business proprietor besides encourages others to not put disconnected penning their will, particularly successful nan property of blended families.

He said: “The rule only follows nan bloodline. So, for example, my ain boy has 2 sons, but 1 of them, his woman already had erstwhile he met her.

“If we didn’t put it successful our will, nan rule wouldn’t recognise him arsenic our grandson.

“It’s very important successful a will, particularly now pinch 2nd relationships and children from erstwhile marriages.”

To observe their 25th anniversary, nan business owners are readying a typical arena connected June 18 astatine their agency successful Watling Street.

Their children, Gareth, 37, and Leah, 35, person been pinch them successful nan business from nan very beginning.

“They’d been helping america retired for years,” Robert added. “And 1 day, they’d astir apt return over.

“I’m judge they’d person their ain funny stories to tell…”