We support the regulation of all financial services including Will Writing.
The Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) has just published its latest report into whether or not Will Writing should become a regulated activity, and has concluded emphatically that it should.
The LSCP commissioned a mystery shopping exercise amongst not only Will Writers but also solicitors, amongst other routes to Wills. The results are disturbing but unsurprising – 22% of all Wills written by Will writers during this exercise failed. However, a staggering 22% of all Wills written by solicitors also failed!
This independently confirms what many have always suspected – despite solicitors contending that their standards are superior they are on average no better than unregulated Will writers, and indeed the LSCP has focused on the need for better standards of training and competency across the sector, including solicitors rather than aiming specifically at Will writers.
How did the Institute of Professional Willwriters fare? The report itself contends that the IPW Code of Practice should be a starting point to raising standards across the sector, with additional aspects pulled from the Solicitors Regulation Authority…. Interestingly, not the SRA Code pulling in aspects of the IPW’s code.
What does this mean for our clients?
We firmly believe that Estate Planning including writing a Will and Lasting Power of Attorneys etc are a fundamental part of financial planning and provide clarity over what you want to happen after your death or even if you fall seriously ill.
Spectrum Independent is an associate member of the Institute of professional Will writers and we are also an associate member of Simply Legal & Associates who write the Wills on behalf of our clients after we have taken the relevant instructions.
Simply Legal & Associates http://www.simplylegal-associates.co.uk is one of the larger specialist estate planning and Will writing practitioner firms in the UK and members of the Institute of Professional Will Writers and comply with the IPW code of conduct.
An effective will is the basis of a sound financial plan and Spectrum Independent will take care, time and sensitivity to help you put the right Will and solutions in place and coupled with the other areas of our financial planning service, we can continue to provide you with a full and rounded financial advice service.
Although Will Writing is not currently regulated by the Financial Services Authority, we are committed to providing the same level of standards we adopt in our regulated advice areas and although the report has confirmed that the unregulated Will writing sector as a whole is as good as the average solicitor, this is an opportunity to encourage the market to speed up regulation and standards and help Financial Planning & Solicitors clients to provide first class estate planning advice.
