Will Writing

Use a solicitor for your Will

Over recent years, the pace of change in the legal industry has continued to accelerate and there are now, more than ever, a variety of avenues through which individuals can access legal services.

Traditionally, if an individual wished to draw up a properly constituted will, he or she would approach a firm of solicitors who would deal with this for them. Now, there are many options, including buying an off-the-shelf, fill-in-the-blanks will form from a high street retailer, using an online service or approaching a “will writer” who may offer to visit you in your own home. But are they offering the same service and value for money?

Solicitors have, for some time, been concerned with the rise of will writers and the de-skilling of this specialist area of the law. Here at FDC Law, we have had to deal with rectifying problems that individuals have encountered as a result of defects with incorrectly drafted wills. Of course, some might say that these concerns are merely self protection but the fact remains that there are real concerns about the burgeoning will writing industry in the UK.

Recently, BBC Panorama aired a programme “Wills – The Final Rip Off” which went out on BBC1 on Monday 9th August 2010. It raised a number of issues about the industry, including the lack of protection through regulation for consumers when compared to using a solicitor and also problems around the clarity of pricing.

On the face of it, it seems that a will writer offers the same service as a solicitor. It may also seem that the price they are offering is much cheaper than the solicitor’s service, particularly regarding the initial costs.

Solicitors train for a law degree for 3 years and then, generally, are at Law College for a further 2 years before they begin working in a law firm. A will writer can start writing wills immediately with no requirement for training.

Unlike solicitors, will writers are not required to have insurance and are not necessarily regulated by any umbrella organisation which ensures they conduct their activities in the interests of the client and provide redress if things go wrong. If a will writer goes out of business, there is often little that can be done and this can lead to problems, for example, with locating wills.

The Panorama programme highlighted a real case where an individual’s wife had used a will writer but the will failed to include any provision for him, leaving the entire estate in trust for his step-daughters. The Chief Executive of Solicitors for the Elderly appeared on the programme and expressed concern that a spouse had not been provided for and that the will writers appear to have failed to advise on his right to bring a claim against the estate for inadequate provision. She also emphasised the point that a specialists solicitor would have asked why a spouse was left out at the time of making the will, kept a detailed record of those reasons and advised of the high risk that the will would ultimately be challenged. She highlighted the fact that one of a solicitor’s main area of business is giving legal advice and, in this and many other instances, it is often the case that the will writer simply drafts the will without providing advice on the consequences and implications of clauses in wills.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority ensures that solicitors conduct their business in the interest of clients and that there is a form of redress if things go wrong. If a law firm goes out of business, the Solicitors Compensation Fund steps in to look after the firm’s clients and settle any claims. No such provision exists for will writers.

The other area of concern with regards to will writers is lack of clarity over costs. This lack of regulation means that many will writing companies offer low cost wills that potentially include significant fees to be paid once the client has died as part of the probate administration and more hidden costs for storage and any subsequent updates to wills.

What is clear is that, at the moment, will writers and solicitors are not operating on a level playing field. As a result, members of the public who think they are receiving a quality service at a low price from unregulated will writers are, very often, not receiving either.

It will be interesting to see if the new coalition Government looks to take any steps to protect consumers in this regard.