An Essex solicitor is backing the BBC show Panorama’s plea for will writers to be subjected to proper legislation, ahead of tonight’s (Monday 9 August) programme which exposes the risks of not seeking full and proper legal advice when creating a will.
Claire Read (pictured), solicitor at leading Essex Law Firm Birkett Long, warns of the potential perils of using a will writing service. She reveals how high pressure sales tactics such as door-knocking on elderly people in Essex has left them out of pocket and their loved ones potentially un-provided for.
A member of Solicitors for the Elderly and the chair of the Essex branch of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Claire is a will writing specialist, and bound by the solicitors’ code of practice, something she believes is the key difference between a professionally qualified solicitor and a will writer.
“Many will writers will appear as if they offer the same service as a solicitor. But using them could put you and your family at risk as many do not have specialist qualifications”, explained Claire. “Most are not properly regulated and this carries risks for the people using them.”
The BBC’s programme reveals how a fear and misunderstanding of solicitor’s costs can prompt people to turn to will writers, often perceived as the cheaper option. But the TV show illustrates how a lack of regulation has seen many will writers ramp up their fees to excessive amounts.
“Will writers often do not have a clear pricing structure", said Claire. “This is something solicitors are bound to provide as members of a professional body or we risk not getting paid.
“Will writers often get their foot in the door of people’s homes by offering wills for as little as £20. But once inside they sometimes sell additional items which really aren’t needed or they offer themselves as Executors and do not provide information on the cost of this. I met one woman in her 70s who paid £500 for her will. Many of the costs were hidden extras, such as document storage fees. As a professional solicitor I could have provided the exact same service for a fixed fee of £175 and stored her Will free of charge.
“In another case a will writing company had ventured beyond its remit and entered the complex area of protecting against care home fee costs. They charged £2,500 for a service which they did not understand and which a solicitor would have carried out for £800.”
The lack of regulation and often insurance to protect individuals against the negligence of will writers, means if something goes wrong there is very little that can be done to compensate the individual or their relatives.
“Unfortunately many people do not realise that their will is inadequate until it’s too late,” added Claire. “Years after it was written, you could find the person or will writing company has gone out of business or is unable to provide the correct information required in the case of legal proceedings.
“Fully qualified solicitors deal with difficult family and contentious issues regularly and are much better placed to understand all the problems surrounding a dispute. A will writer simply couldn’t deal with this in the same, professional way.”
Last week Claire spoke to an elderly client in her 80s who had been phoned three times by a will writing company. They were trying to scare her into appointing them in place of the solicitor as executors of her will, by wrongly telling her that the solicitor could charge up to £10,000 for this service.
“Luckily she phoned us and we were able to reassure her that this was not the case at all,” said Claire.
Claire urges anyone with any concerns about their will to contact a professionally regulated solicitor. She stresses that many solicitors, such as Birkett Long, are happy to arrange home visits and appointments, if customers cannot get out to their offices.
Claire recommends that anyone looking for advice about creating or amending a will should visit the Solictors for the Elderly website at
www.solicitorsfortheelderly.com or call them on 0844 567 6173 during office hours to find a local, professional solicitor. The STEP website at
www.step.org also has a list of qualified practitioners who specialise in wills.
For expert legal advice about wills contact Claire Read at
Birkett Long on 01245 453835 or email
claire.read@birkettlong.co.uk.
Posted: 09/08/2010