Will Writers to be Regulated

Making a will is something everyone should do and it is important to have complete confidence in the person advising you.

The Legal Services Board has announced proposals to provide greater protection for consumers of will-writing and estate administration services by bringing these under the scope of legal services regulation. If enacted, this would mean that everyone who provides such services would have to be regulated.

Unlike solicitors, unregulated will writers do not have to be legally qualified or insured. As they do not come under the auspices of any regulatory body, there is currently no mechanism for bringing a formal complaint and without insurance there may be no means of redress should things go wrong.

Solicitors, on the other hand, are professionally qualified to do the work, are bound by a stringent code of professional conduct and, in the very rare event of a loss to a client, clients are protected by the solicitor’s professional indemnity insurance, which is compulsory.

 

The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.