A report by the Legal Services Ombudsmen as reported here reminds us again of the potential issues that can arise if Wills are written by unregulated Will Writers.
It is well worth remembering that the signing of a Will for the majority of people represents in monetary terms the effective signing of the largest post-dated cheque in their lives.
In these circumstances, it is somewhat concening that some 180,000 Wills per year are currently being prepared by unregulated Will-Writes as against Solicitors or regulated Will-writers.
There are many horror stories regarding Wills prepared by unregulated Will writers but the one that sticks in my mind is the Will writer who closed his business and literally took signed Wills he had prepared to the local rubbish dump for disposal, for which words literally fail me.
As a solicitor who specialises in making Wills, I believe that my clients can take comfort in knowing:
1. That I have many years experience in making Wills and can advise fully on issues relating to tax, trusts and the like, if required. (an unregulated Will writer, can theoratically set up business without any training.
2. That I offer an initial free consultation with a new client and will only then agree a reasonable fixed fee for the Wills service agreed. (There are many stories of Will writers offering a very low fixed price for a Will to entice new customers and then adding additional fees for services which should be part of the Wills package in any event).
3. That in the event of an error on my part, my clients are covered by my firm's comprehensive professional indemnity policy (although I very much hope that this never needs to be used).
4. That in the event of complaint, my clients can follow a fully regulated complaints procedure leading to the Legal services Ombudsmen, if applicable.
5. That the Wills prepared by my firm are placed in secure custody with paper and electronic copies of the signed Will retained and will continue to be held in this way by another solicitor's firm if my firm no longer existed for any reason.
These points will generally apply to all solicitors who specialise in Will preparation.
As a result, my advice is always to ensure that your Will is prepared by an experienced solicitor or fully regulated Will-writer who specilises in will-writing.
Comments