A recent report by the Legal Services Consumer Panel has called for regulation of Will writing after their study found that one in four Wills was wrong.
The section of the report dealing with quality was based largely on a ‘mystery shopping’ exercise with the Wills being assessed by an expert panel which awarded a “pass” when they considered both that it was legally valid (meaning that a Grant of Probate could be obtained using the Will, with an affidavit if needed) and that its overall quality was of passable, good or excellent standard. A “fail” was given when the Will was assessed as either being not legally valid or of poor or very poor overall quality.
The report was critical of the style of language used in many of the Wills, which meant that many testators were unable to understand the contents. It also identified a common theme, which was Wills being assembled by cutting and pasting precedents from software packages, without the legal knowledge required to understand that the final package did not work as intended.
Heather Lally, specialist Wills and Probate Solicitor at Morecrofts says, “We welcome the call for regulation of Will writing to ensure that all clients receive the same quality advice when preparing their Wills. Currently anyone can download a Will template off the internet, call themselves a Will Writer and charge people money to create their Wills even though they have no legal training and are not regulated by a professional body, which is worrying.
“Drafting a Will can be a complex process, you may want to set up trusts, make a gift of your personal property, or appoint someone to administer your estate and it is especially important to ensure tax planning is correct. Wills are not a cut and paste job, you have to carefully consider each set of circumstances and draft a Will that best serves the wishes of the individual. I would recommend that anyone considering making their Will use a trained professional that has the knowledge and experience of the law to ensure your Will is correct.”
Morecrofts Solicitors have launched an annual “Morecrofts Make a Will Week” to raise funds for their nominated charity. From the 3rd to the 7th October you can make a Will for a minimum donation of £50 and all proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support in Merseyside.
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