The Law Society calls for will writers regulation
10/08/2010
The Law Society has called for greater regulation of the will- writers to match that of solicitors after BBC Panorama's Wills: The Final Rip Off? last night revealed the risks of using unregulated will writers.
The Society is calling for a level playing field in the will writing market to ensure consumers have greater protection against inaccurate or poorly drafted wills, as seen on the Panorama investigation into the unregulated will writing industry last night.
Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson says: "The Panorama investigation emphasises a problem the Law Society has been highlighting for some time that there are severe risks to consumers in using unregulated, unqualified and uninsured will writers. Unlike solicitors, will writers are not robustly regulated by law, nor are they thoroughly insured (if at all) to protect against errors.
"Solicitors are qualified to write wills, their obligatory insurance cover means that the client's interests are protected and they are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Should anything go wrong, the client and their estate are fully protected. Will writers cannot offer that protection or basic competence."
Last year, a study by the Law Society found that many solicitors were being passed botched wills that had been originally written by will writers.
Desmond Hudson says: "Examples from the Law Society Probate Section members revealed that solicitors were having to clear up the mess left by some will writers. If clients had gone to a solicitor in the first place they would not have wasted their money.
"Until there is greater regulation and protection for consumers on wills, the best possible option to the public is to use a solicitor. Moves by some will writing organisations to impose a code of practice on their members is a small step in the right direction, but until there is an equal level of protection to clients irrespective of whether they are a solicitor or a will writer, the public remain exposed to the risks highlighted on Panorama by some will writers. We look to the consumer bodies to support in our drive for better consumer protection."
It seems that the fear of high solicitors fees prompts some people to use will writers. Heather Kirk of Nottingham firm Rothera Dowson commented: “Solicitors are required to set out the basis of their charges in writing, and in many cases wills are undertaken for a fixed fee with free storage of wills and other documents.
“This BBC programme highlights the potential for getting it wrong without full legal advice and the need for proper regulation of will writers. It can be very costly to undo later. It’s unnecessary and very sad to leave your family in disarray, picking up the pieces only later as the problems come to light after you died”
Although there are, sadly some unscrupulous will writing firms operating, not all are bad news. The Institute of Professional Willwriters has recently achieved approval from the Office of Fair Trading for its code of practice. Although only around 20% of willwriting firms belong to the Institute, those that are will be operating to a higher code of practice than the law requires.
To find out more on the Code of Practice for Will Writers, visit the link below for MT's article about this.