After many years of complaints to the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) about poor quality Will drafting by unqualified and unregulated Will writers, the panel have now concluded that that Will writing services should be regulated.

Download: Consumer Panel Will Writing Report

Anyone can draft a Will and it will become increasingly common to see banks, independent financial advisors, charities, trade unions, Will writing companies and providers of DIY Wills providing Will writing services on every high street, under the guise of providing the public with greater choice. Soon, the big supermarkets will follow, not satisfied with providing food and consumer goods, financial services and pet insurance, ' Tesco law ' is on the way. It is reported that services provided by these unregulated providers already account for almost one third of all Wills prepared in the UK last year!

At Howes Percival you may think we are biased in believing that our qualifications and experience make us a 'safe pair of hands' to entrust with this important service. The sad fact is that, every week we are approached by families needing our help to unravel problems caused by poorly drafted and executed Wills. Although specialist law firms, like Howes Percival, could potentially make substantial profits in the long term off the back of badly drawn Wills, we would far rather help clients to put plans in place to be sure that things don't go wrong.

We commonly see clients who have suffered at the hands of these providers, and have discovered (far too late to do anything about it) that Wills are invalid, or do not do what they thought they did. They might have missed valuable planning opportunities to reduce tax, or preserve assets, to provide for disabled children, or vulnerable dependants.

The LSCP have also identified may cases of unqualified Will writers using sharp selling practices and undertaking unnecessary work resulting in unnecessary costs, often involving the most elderly and vulnerable members of our society.

Rebecca Haddon, Solicitor at Howes Percival and member of Solicitors for the Elderly says;
'' A poorly worded Will can be worse than having no Will at all, so the best advice remains to always to speak to a specialist. Would you buy groceries from a solicitor ? Or have your root canal work done by an unqualified dentist ? If the answer to either or both of these questions is no - then think twice before you choose who to use to write your Will. A will for £19.95?! Like everything else in this world... if you pay peanuts... you get monkeys!''

Having said that... for 16 lucky clients aged 50 or over we have a limited number of vouchers entitling supporters of The Institute of Cancer Research to have the Wills completed for free.

Our team of specialist lawyers at Howes Percival LLP can help you make the right decision for you. If you wish to discuss any of these matters further, please do not hesitate to contact our Please contact Rebecca on 01604 258034 or Rebecca.haddon@howespercival.com .

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