Investigation into unregulated legal services
The government’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently launched an investigation into the UK’s unregulated legal services market — news that we welcome at Morrish Solicitors — says Emma Garfitt, Associate Solicitor.
A large part of this investigation will focus on will-writing and pre-paid probate services.
Currently a firm does not need to be regulated by an official body to provide will-writing and probate services. This means you could be paying an unqualified and unregulated will-writer to prepare one of the most important documents of your life. There are 208,000 unregulated providers of legal services in England and Wales.
Clearing up the mess of unregulated will writers
We have acted for many clients who were unaware of this and paid for the services of unregulated will-writers, leading to problems for them later down the line. We have had to rectify issues that have come from poorly drafted documents, unnecessary trusts and incorrect advice, which lead to further legal bills that could have been avoided.
Some unregulated will-writers focus more on selling their clients a package of expensive products without any regard as to whether the products are suitable for that client and whether they even understand the legal implications of the product they are selling.
Pre-paid probate problems
Some of these unregulated firms also sell pre-paid probate services. This is where an individual pays thousands of pounds upfront to the firm on the agreement that the provider will then deal with the administration of the client’s estate for the agreed amount. There are usually hidden costs and further bills for the family after the individual has died.
These services are also charged in accordance with what a client has in their estate at that time. This amount is likely to change between paying for the probate and death so the client could be overcharged.
We have also seen cases where the legal provider has gone into administration after individuals have signed up to their pre-paid probate services and that money cannot be recovered. Earlier this year the Financial Conduct Authority issued a stark warning against pre-paid probate plans provided by unregulated firms.
It is important to note that these unregulated firms could mean a loss of consumer rights for an individual, leaving them nowhere to turn for recourse when things go wrong.
Positive change
We hope that this investigation is the beginning of needed and positive change for the will-writing industry. We want to see will-writing become a regulated activity to ensure the upmost protection for individuals, especially the vulnerable.
We would advise individuals looking to make a will or those seeking probate services to check the firm they are using is a regulated firm and to look at the qualifications and training of the will-drafter.
Morrish Solicitors has been in business 1882 so we have plenty of experience. The firm is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and our whole wills and estates team is fully qualified in will writing.
