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Will-writing services investigated by legal panel

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 22 Sep 2010

There could be more regulation of will writing services as the Legal Services Consumer Panel launches an investigation into whether non-lawyer-provided services are putting consumers in danger. 

The major concern of the investigation is when will writing is done not by a solicitor, but via another means such as charity wills services or independent financial advisors. The public, including charities, are now invited to present evidence to the Panel about whether and to what extent there is a problem with these non-solicitor wills.

One of the possible areas of harm to consumers identified by the Panel has been that a lack of transparency may mean that individuals do not make informed choices about the decisions they make when writing their will or that they do not fully grasp its consequences.

Increased regulation of will-writing, potentially restricting it to qualified solicitors, is one of the scenarios the Panel will explore if evidence does suggest that consumers are being put at risk by the current situation.

Dr Dianne Hayter, chair of the panel, said, “The case for regulating will writers may rest on whether there are abuses across the industry or just a few rogues who can be dealt with under existing laws. Finding evidence of badly written wills and underhand sales practices will be crucial to establishing this.

But, Dr Hayter insisted, the panel will only recommend increased regulation, when it closes the investigation in December, if “convincing evidences” arises that consumers are being failed by the current system. 

Iain McAndrew, vice-chair of Remember A Charity and Head of Legacies at Save the Children said the legacy organisation welcomed the announcement.

"We feel that it’s important there is in place an effective framework which gives consumers confidence in their choice of will provider at the time of writing their will," he said. 

"Appropriately drafted wills ensure that executors and beneficiaries are safeguarded from unnecessary expense and anxiety when a Will is administered. We will be canvasing the views of our members in our submission to this fact finding exercise."

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