Should will writing be regulated?
There is an on going debate about whether will writing should be a reserved occupation which can only be carried out by certain specified lawyers e.g. barristers and solicitors.
Every now and again there is a big scandal about unregulated will writers scamming the unsuspecting public but the recent secret buyer survey concluded that many solicitors were not exactly offering a glowing service either.
In fact in July 2011 the Legal Services Consumer Panel report submitted to the Legal Services Board observed that solicitors despite having a detailed code of conduct are equally likely to produce sub-standard wills as unregulated will writers.
There does seem to be a good argument for insisting that a minimum level of training is undertaken and that CPD is required too but that may be a long way off still.
So the answer might well be to ask the right questions at the outset and at least that will help you stay away from the cowboys who don’t even have professional indemnity insurance.
After that, get recommendations and try to find out who actually will draft your will. Some arrangements are very lightly trained people who tale instructions for others to write the will. The problem with this system is that the instruction taker may not know much beyond the ‘bog standard’ solution and Offer that when a better solution is available.
So whilst will writing remains unregulated and to some extent even after it is, should that happen, try to ask questions about who will do what when they have the will instructions.
Category Archives: Wills
People who make wills live longer
I was at a meeting yesterday where one of the people made a statement that caught my attention.
He said that people who make Wills live longer. I asked for some more details to back up this assertion.
Ah, he said, it was not that making a Will makes you live longer as such but the type of people who do make Wills actually live longer. I accept that there are plently of decent sociological type studies that do make a strong correlation between wealth/class etc and what they do and don’t do.
I will not be making this a selling feature for making a Will as it might be misunderstood.
Has your Financial Advisor told you to do your Will?
Has your Financial Advisor told you to make your Will?
If you use an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) you will naturally have to let them know a lot about your financial circumstances, in most situations. They must ahve this information to help build a strong picture about your circumstances to enable them to give give you the best advice.
At the end of the fact find about your circumstances an IFA is required under FSa guidelines to ask if you have a Will. If you have one they should ask you when was it last reviewed and if it wasn’t for a few years they should recommend you have it done ASAP.
IF you don’t have a Will they should recommend you get one ASAP. This is really important as having a Will is a fundamental part of financial planning. As the infamous meerkat might say “Simples”!
What happens next is a moveable feast. If you are pointed in the direction of a Will Writer or solicitor did the IFA know who you were actually going to get you involved with?
It surprises me that in some cases your IFA will not know who is coming to see you. w
What can happen is that your details are sent to a company and someone ‘local’ contacts you to make an appointment about making your Will. Pot luck sometimes.
Have a look at this forum post on Cash Questions to see what can happen How many personal details should we disclose to a Will-Writing company?
And if you are an IFA why would you do this?
DIY Wills – how to get them right?
DIY Wills
I get to think about Do It Yourself Wills (or DIY Wills) quite a lot.
Knocking the use of DIY wills is easy and can be justified because, for certain, it is a risky way to ensure your inheritance is goes where you want it to.
Why is that?
Firstly, many family/property situations are not understood by an average person. For example, the issues surrounding joint-ownership of property and about second marriage inheritance problems when there are children from the first marriage.
Secondly, how does anyone know it has been written and signed correctly? Normally no lawyer gets to check that it has been attested (signed in accordance with the legal rules) properly.
So to get the right DIY Will and ensure it is valid you need to be clear about your own circumstances and what the particular Do It Yourself Will kit can offer.
You need to have the DIY Will checked by a qualified lawyer or a properly qualified Will Writer to see that it is OK.
Be careful who you ask to do the check. Many proper and professional and Will Writing companies produce good Wills for clients use Instruction Takers. These people do not have the facility to check them. They are agents or franchisee’s who are qualified to take instructions only and not to write Wills.
So maybe you could check local lawyers to see if they do it and how much they might charge for it.
It might be the only way you can get peace of mind.
So the mantra should be if you must make a Will using a DIY Will kit do ensure it is checked before you put it away.
An amusing video about Wills
Wills on video?
Wills amusing?
I look through YouTube from time to time to see if I can find anything interesting. This is the first time I have found a video about last Wills amusing. It is a little tongue in cheek and, no, generally speaking, video Wills are not valid so you shouldn’t get ideas. However if you want to leave a video message for those left behind there is plenty of opportunity to do that.
Just remember to get your real last Will and testament sorted out properly.
DIY Will Disaster Waiting to Happen
I saw someone a couple of weeks ago who wanted some advice about making sure her Will would cover all her assets. She had the idea that she had to list everything in the Will.
Having spent a while discussing why this was not necessary as dealing with her residuary estate would deal with all these areas we got to talking about her current Will.
She passed me her Will which was a regular DIY Will of the type that probably cost about £10.
It contained so many errors I was very surprised.
She had crossed out her previous address and put in a new one.
She had changed some of the gifts by crossing out items and adding new ones.
She contradicted her gifts by giving everything to a group of people and giving specific gifts to others.
She had recopied half of the will again on the same sheet and finally she told me that the witnesses had come to witness her signature in different days.
She was a very bright person but just could not folow the instructions it seems.
I am as sure as can be that this Will would not be accepted by the Probate Registry.
If there ever was an advert for the benefits of a Will review!
Why make a Will? | video presentation
Here is a video from Bloombergs which gives a good overview of why it is important to have a Will. It is for the USA but much of the information is relevant o the UK and common law jurisdictions such as Canada as well.
Find out more about making a will and more at Lawscape
Wills & Probate Directory
The Wills & Probate directory is a useful resource listing Wills & Probate professionals and some other associated websites worldwide.
There are also listings from bloggers and financial advisors.
On top of that you can submit articles that fit the genre.
Worth a look
Some reasons to make a Will
This video is by Bill Ryan of Lawscape where he talks about making a Will, appointing guardians and the inheritance problems re-marriage can be cause if care is not taken. Just two minutes long this gives some sound reasosn to review your situation and consider a Will review at the least.