There is a real debate about making it harder for people to
write Wills. That is all very well but as long as 70% of
people do not have a Will, is it in the public interest to make it
harder? Shouldn't we be making it easier?
Non-lawyer Will writers are a growing profession in the United
Kingdom, but there are certain problems that have occurred in the
past with non-regulated professionals.
Since Scotland has cracked down on private Will writing
companies, the Legal Services Board have now called to action a
rethink into England and Wales non-regulated Will writers. This
could mean that unless you are a qualified solicitor and properly
regulated by the Law Society, you will not be allowed to draft
Wills legally.
For the consumer, this could mean, a huge bill and unnecessary
time wasting. Obviously if the Will is very complex, legal advice
is recommended, but for simple Wills that can be just as easily
done over the phone for a reasonable price, lawyers expenses are
not worth it.
What can be seen is that if Wills require a lawyer to draft each
time, people will be less inclined to make a Will, or attempt to
draft there own, which could cause huge problems and a rise in
intestacy cases.
A way around this dilemma is for all private Will writing
companies to be self-regulated by recognised organisations such as
The Society of Will Writers. This would be mean, practitioners will
be kept track of, have to attend classes to keep up to date on the
law and skills of drafting, but then the writers will be able to
retain the freedom and customers will still have the option to pay
reasonable fees for carefully drafted Wills.
Comments (0)