Making a will to say who will be my child's guarding if I die...

My husband and I need to have a will so we can stipulate who we want to have our children should we die. Do I need to have a lawyer for that or is it something we can do ourselves? Is the fact that the people we want to be their guardians live in America and we live in England going to be a problem?

I'm pretty sure that when you write a will in England you just have to have two witnesses sign that they saw you sign it. They can't be left anything in your will though.

We are in the same boat so looking forward to any advice.

Aren't there some cross-over issues so the other country doesn't necessarily recognize the other country's will. I've heard it recommended to have one for each saying the same things, but I could be wrong as I haven't looked too closely yet.  I really need to get one done too.

In England & Wales you don't need to put this in a will (although most do). You simply need to make a written statement saying that in accordance with the Children Act 1989 should you and your partner die, you would like person XYZ to have responsibility for your child. Obviously sign and date it but you don't need a witness. I don't know how this would hold up in the US, my guess is that it would be influential.

Thanks for the advice! We'll probably contact a solicitor to find out about any cross country issues when the time comes. Better to be safe than sorry.

If you do get a will, please do it through a solicitor. So many people do these DIY wills, under the impression that they will hold up in court but case law shows that this is not the case. If you don't want family fighting over your legacy (or children) then it's for the best to do it properly.