You may be surprised to learn that anyone can set up in business preparing Wills and offer probate services. They do not necessary need any qualifications or insurance to protect you should something go wrong.  As a result, there has been thousands of cases where people have found that their Will is not legally watertight . Many people have also been overcharged for their Will writing.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) have investigated this problem and recommended that will writing and estate administration services should have the same strict regulation as Solicitors. This will protect the consumer from falling foul to incompetent practices.   Their findings would see Will writing and administration services become regulated in the same way as many other legal services such as divorce, family law, personal injury, conveyancing and litigation.

This move has been commended by Solicitors generally who, in contrast to non-solicitor Will writers, are highly qualified and experienced and are obliged to abide by a very strict code monitored by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Society chief executive Des Hudson said that solicitors offered “greater levels of competence” as well as “an in-depth understanding of what can be a complex area and a professional commitment to acting solely in the interests of our clients”.

Until such time as a regulatory body has been established to monitor Will writing by non regulated firms anyone requiring will and probate services should ensure that they use a qualified and regulated provider.

Akeela Majeed of BPS Law said “this is certainly a welcomed moved by the Law Society. Many people expect that all practitioners writing Wills are qualified and regulated, unfortunately this isn’t the the position at the moment. The change in regulation will ensure that unassuming clients will not be left with Wills they cannot rely on and cannot be enforced by their family members at a very difficult time in their lives. At BPS we have a dedicated Will and Probate team. We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Services and we are highly trained and experienced in Will writing. We welcome client’s to contact us and discuss the range of options available to them. We understand that clients and families require security at this sensitive time and we go the extra mile to provide excellent service to each and every client”

Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article.

Akeela Majeed, Associate Solicitor