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Advisers have been urged to check will writers they recommend to clients are members of a recognised trade body, as a Panorama investigation uncovers malpractice in the unregulated sector.
Wills: The final rip off?, to be aired tonight on BBC1 at 8.30pm, highlights some of the dangers to consumers of using private will writing companies.
According to the programme, consumers were hit by hidden charges, and even had their inheritance stolen by firms.
However, some will writing companies claim the programme presents an unfairly biased view.
Craig Jones of the Legal Services Board issued a statement to the BBC today in response to the programme saying: "A solicitor is regulated when carrying out will-writing activity but other types of adviser may not be.
"The reason for this is that will-writing is not currently covered by the definition of a reserved legal activity.
"We will begin in the autumn to review the extent of reserved legal activities generally and our approach for deciding whether a legal activity should be reserved or regulated at all."
Tom Gormanly of The Will Writing Company is a founding member of the Institute of Professional Will Writers (IPW).
"There is no formal regulation of will writing but there are one of two trade bodies," he says.
"The IPW acts as a regulator even though it is not one. We advise IFAs to choose a will writer who is a member of a body with a strong constitution.
"The IPW has OFT consumer code status, and it is the one and only body with a consumer code.
"Being a member of the IPW means you have to pass external exams and provide CDP.
"The problem is that the whole sector is not regulated by legislation, so you could be expelled from the IPW but carry on trading. The IPW is campaigning for formal legislation."
Brian McMillan, managing director of the Society of Will Writers, is also pushing for legislation.
"The problems are relatively small," he says, "but if probate was taken out of the equation, most of these problems would not happen.
"We do not recommend that our members handle probate, and if they do, they must have separate professional indemnity insurance and should have the appropriate qualifications. Will writers should not handle money.
"Our members must take training courses, prove their experience, maintain their professional indemnity insurance, and adhere to our code of conduct.
"We supported Scotland with plans for legislation and recommend a similar scheme goes ahead in England and Wales; will writers should at least have a licensing system."
When sourcing a will writer, McMillan said IFAs should look for those with membership of a recognized trade body, and get references from others using that writer's services.
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| Comment | IFAs warned on will writers following Panorama probe |
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Untrained solicitors
Oh Harry, not another one bowing down before the wonder of being a solicitor! Solicitors are GPs, and may be great or just get their secretary to create a Will from their £99 precedents for everything book. Many solicitors have no training on writing Wills (it is not a popular course) and carry out no CPD on the subject. Some are absolutely superb, and they will tend to be members of STEP too (and expensive!) So, if you are recommending a solicitor, ask what SPECIFIC training they have had on Wills, and how much CPD they have done on this vast and every changing subject each of the last 3 years. In most cases you won't get a proper answer other than "I am a solicitor and we are regulated" - that is NOT a full answer - demand one. Society of Will Writers members should be able to answer properly, as should IPW members, as both have minimum requirements
Posted by: Steve Pett
Naiive
Harry, you sound really naiive .... solicitors might not be cowboys, but they rarely offer value for money. They also push themselves to be made executor, which I suggest is a much bigger "scandal" than anything likely to be exposed tonight. As to "I refuse to act for a client unless they have a Will" ...... are you sure ??!!
Posted by: TP
A fair programme?
It will be interesting to see what is mentioned in the program and I suspect that the banks will not be looked upon favorably. I found it disappointing that the program makers declined to tale up the offer of the IPW and SWW to be interviewed and will watch intrigued t see what angle they are coming from.
Posted by: David Todd
And the worst were missed
I am amazed yet again that the worst offenders are again passed un-noticed. The horrendous way in which the Halifax and Lloyds work together to fleece their customers, Their so called will writers persuade the unwary not to use family or friends as executors as it is a complex process instead the reccommend Lloyds Their Charge 4%of the first £500,000 and 3% after total disgrace.
Posted by: Mark Edwards
Point missed
I dont necessarily think membership of a trade body is the be all and end all - werent the two guys who ended up in jail both members of such a body - so that isnt exactly the answer is it!!! Like so many industries there will always be corner cutters and those out to fleece people (come guys look at our own industry we are not exempt from such behaviours...!!) - as for being a Will Writer our company carries the appropriate PI cover and have a code of practice - we dont appoint ourselves as executors and have very clear terms of business BUT we are not members of any 'professional body' although we did train under one - so I definitely understand the need for professionalism in the industry and think we wouldnt have been able to do the job without it. Unfortunately no regulation means anyone can wake up and think 'today I will be a Willwriter' In fact what pushed me into training as one was that I referred clients to an alleged 'WillWriter' who didnt actually draft the Wills correctly - I trained and then had to put right what had been done wrong!! Obviously he thought it was an easy job for easy money - he was (is) so very wrong!! Unfortunately as always Panorama paints one side of the picture - we (although with many other professional and ethical Will Writers)have many satisfied clients, along with (sadly but a fact of life)several Wills that have gone through probate, with no problem - but there again Panorama wouldnt want to talk to us would they? - we wouldnt be very 'televisual' It would be a bit like talking to the IPW - it has an OFT code of conduct - I am astounded they werent asked to participate as they the first industry group to push for regulation of the industry as a whole. Again, showing the decent advisers doesnt grab headlines does it .....???
Posted by: DT
prof bodies
DT, You need to be careful not to categorise all bodies in the same stable. The society of will writers have little entry requirement and pretty much anyone who says they can write a will can pay to join. The Institute of Professional Will Writers (IPW) on the other hand have stringent entry requirements, you have to demonstrate appropriate qualifications, you must show CPD and you must keep up to date with legislative developments. Also worth noting that they do legal background checks and the fraudulent will writer who was a member of the Society of Will Writers would not have been given membership of the IPW.
Posted by: IL
IL
Yes IL I trained under IPW and yes I agree that SOWW are different!!!!
Posted by: DT
The bigger questions is...
I agree that Wills need to be drawn up by a professional who demonstrates value for money, trustworthiness and can demonstrate the understanding in law of intestacy, but this opens up a much wider debate of who is it that actually requlates Solicitors? It's themselves and not a government department like the FSA who regulate IFA's. Have you ever tried complaining about a solicitor or have you ever tried to get advice....it's almost impossible on both counts.
Posted by: REGS
Difference between Will Writing and Probate
Please could we be clear that the Panorama programme dealt with probate administration, rather than will-writing. The Society of Will Writers' PI has been bothered eleven times in the last 16 years. Hardly a nest of bad practice! The Media will talk about products and services that the Public actually own, not obscure ones that hardly anybody owns. When are we having an outbreak of equine flu? All other farmyard animals have already been featured.
Posted by: Paul White
Will writing and professional executorship - Conflict
The comments all highlight the difference between drafting Wills and administering estates (probate). This goes to show what a conflict there is when the 'builder'(draftsman of the Will) of ,say a'hotel' (an estate) appoints himself the Maitre d'. This gives the Will writer absolute anthority / Carte blanche to run the whole show and charge very significant fees. A better rule would be that no Will writer should have the power to appoint themselves as Executors. I run an online Will and legal document company (www.glosslegal.co.uk) and we specifically do not offer Executorship services because of this conflict. Such Executor appointments should be made by separate Will writers
Posted by: Peter Watts
Some Solicitors do offer low fixed fees
There is a misconception that all Solicitors are expensive for Will writing and Probate services. My Firm of Solicitors, Premier Solicitors, offer a basic Will for £25 + VAT (and over 95% of our clients require a basic Will). We point out that Executors can either be lay Executors (family or trusted friends) , or if circumstances require it clients can elect to have me appointed as a professional Executor. As well as a Solicitor I am also a Chartered Accountant, a Chartered Tax Adviser, a Chartered Secretary, an Independent Financial Adviser, a Notary Public and a Trust & Estate Practitioner. We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who are an independent body. Amongst other professional memberships I am a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners and the Law Society's Private Client Section, and consider myself to be well qualified to advise in this field of Wills, Probate, Tax Planning & Trusts work. You may think that I will be expensive, but our probate services are fairly priced, and we offer low fixed feesm, and will be one of the most cost competive firms out there. Our business model is to offer the highest levels of expertise at the lowest possible cost as we want to showcase what we have to offer clients and build long lasting relationships with our clients. I also work with other professionals, such as Accountants and IFAs, offering my specialist services to their clients. Legal services from Solicitors need not be expensive! Sunil Kambli, Partner, Premier Solicitors.
Posted by: Sunil Kambli
Will Writing Company
read my reviews about WWC at http://www.google.com/profiles/jimsrant http://jimsrant.livejournal.com/ jim
Posted by: jim
Will Writing Company
read my reviews about WWC at http://www.google.com/profiles/jimsrant http://jimsrant.livejournal.com/ jim
Posted by: jim
Never get your Will written by a Solicitor
I've not seen the programme yet but some of us are still naive to even suggest to go to solicitors for will Writing; most of inadvertently give the answer while we ask the question; solicitors are not very expensive? Devil is in tail. Solicitors hate doing any work and charging you a couple of hundred pounds. If you've already spent thousands with them they'll write your Will and declare themselves Executors, so when you pop off they can rip off your beneficiaries...wakey wakey.
Posted by: Abi
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Beans
What a surprise ! why o why do people buy professional services like they would a tin of beans, regulated or not. Perhaps they got what they paid for ! Who would be daft enough not to use a solicitor they are not that expensive for wills.
Posted by: Spike