Legal Services Consumer Panel report on will writing

The Legal Services Consumer Panel have published a report on the regulation of will writing.  The main focus of the investigation was will-writing companies, where the greatest concern lay.  Although the best will-writing companies do provide a valuable and cheaper alternative to solicitors and match the service of solicitors in the preparation of wills, there was much evidence of consumer detriment, particularly in the poor quality of wills prepared by some companies.

They identified the following people who might be affected (at para 1.6):

Will-writing services present unusual risks due to who is affected. Some consumers are in vulnerable circumstances: people who lack mental capacity have specific needs in relation to wills; and older people are a target market for providers. The people most affected by a will are those named in the document, including the beneficiaries and any dependants. They are poorly placed to prevent problems with wills and the remedies available to them are limited in practice.

The Panel had the following areas of concern:

• Quality
• Sales practices
• Storage
• a "Rogue Minority" engaged in sharp practices.

They were also concerned about solicitors, saying (at para 1.11):

The evidence suggests a need to raise standards across the market as the quality of wills prepared by solicitors is also disappointing. We have identified opportunities to strengthen the Legal Practice Course (where the compulsory will-writing elements are fairly minimal) and to introduce reaccreditation. The joint regulators‟ education and training review provides a good forum for discussion about ensuring ongoing competence.

They made the following regulatory proposal (at para 1.23):

The Panel proposes that will-writing services should be made a reserved legal activity. Any business – not just a solicitors firm – satisfying an approved regulator's entry standards could provide will-writing services. The starting point for a regulatory scheme could be the IPW code. Around this core should be added greater monitoring of the quality of wills and some regulatory arrangements that apply to solicitors, such as falling within the Legal Ombudsman's jurisdiction. As a co-regulatory approach, this idea has the benefit of expert provider input that self-regulation offers. Economies of scale also mean it is likely to be more cost-effective.

Link: The report can be found here