
A survey was made in behalf of the Fellowship of Professional Will Writers and Probate Practitioners, which showed that 67% of consumers are under the opinion that all will writers are lawyers. This is not true.
Even more disturbing, is that 82% of clients presumed that Will Writers had proper education and qualifications. Clients can be left at the mercy of corrupt Will Writers frequently with no amends if anything goes wrong.There was a case like this in October of last year, which resulted in the will writer who was portraying a solicitor, to be imprisoned for 8 years. He promoted himself as a financial consultant with a "home wills" business.
He preyed on widows who had no kids, and ensured he was made an facilitator in their Wills. This allowed him to defraud the estates of 3 pensioners to the value of £800,000. The monies, which the pensioners had appropriated for charities and caring for the sick was siphoned off by the Will Writing swindler.Genuine will writers are supposed to stick to the following guidelines: the should be practicing lawyers, they are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority; and they should be able to put up a minimum amount of £2,000,000 for insurance. The price of having a Will prepared by your lawyer will alter based on the level of attention you need. It is viable to have Wills done on line with lawyers, Wills through the mail, or a complex custom-made Will with Inheritance Tax advice as well.
In another case, the news of a mother and children being denied a share of their son’s and father’s estate drives home the risks of not keeping your Will bang up to date.
What he believed was a simple understanding between him and his estranged wife led in his other relatives being disowned. The lesson of the story is to check with the solicitor who made your Will, that there are no pitfalls or prospective problems in what you seek to achieve.
There are many questions, about rectifying or updating your Will which you may not have considered. Most lawyers would not make a charge for general advice of this nature, so there really is no justification in not enquiring. Keep in mind that if you plan ahead, your heirs will not have to face unexpected financial troubles. The lawyers’ reputations are based on public trust. Is it really worth the risk of having a Will prepared by someone other than your solicitor?