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Why you need to be careful about a solicitor writing your will

Why you need to be careful about a solicitor writing your will

  

Why you need to be careful about a solicitor writing your will

Welcome to Brooks Wills. 

Providing expert will writing services in Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, and surrounding areas.

I’ve stated in another post that the will writing profession is like the Wild West. Anyone can do it, including any old cowboy. This has created a problem in that there are many bogus companies out there. Some of these companies have the financial power to be able to advertise on national television. They advertise cheap and easy wills that are quick and “fully legal”, yet they provide these services with very limited or no knowledge about the underpinning law. For that reason, you should certainly be wary of who you deal with.

The immediate go-to is to call a solicitor. Why not? They’re very well educated. Generally, they’re highly intellectual. They must also do their jobs to a high standard. They can get in serious trouble if they don’t. But you should be wary of them too.

I imagine that this sounds a pretty eyebrow raising thing to state, but I shall explain why. First, you need to understand a little bit about how a solicitor qualifies.

The Qualifications

The qualifications have recently been changed, but what you learn in them have stayed the same. Once a student has passed their law degree or diploma (or now SQE1), they must then sit a post-graduate qualification (used to be the LPC, now called SQE2). Up until the start of the postgrad, the law student has been learning the law and what it means. They learn how a solicitor actually does their job when they sit the postgrad.

The postgrad is made of 2 parts. The first part is compulsory. The second part is made up of choice modules. You choose the areas of law you want to specialise in.

There are only 2 hours of lectures in will writing in the compulsory modules. That’s it. You must choose the module in the second part that covers it in full.

What’s The Problem?

There are solicitors out there drafting wills off the back of these 2 hours and nothing more. AND they’re charging clients over £500 for them! I have even heard of one or two of them that actually skipped those lectures entirely, but STILL charge that sort of money! Bear in mind that this is the base rate. Prices can go up. See our prices here as a comparison

I have to keep my knowledge contemporary. It is a condition of my membership to the IPW and SWW. This means many hours of lectures and workshops each year with other members to stay on top of my game.  The level of knowledge that these workshops provide far exceeds the knowledge provided in the specialist module at university.

Yet the cowboys are apparently the will writers!

The Bottom Line

I appreciate just how inflammatory this post has the potential of being. You must understand that I am not suggesting that all solicitors are doing this. There are plenty of good lawyers out there who do specialise in matters like these. They are able to deal with matters like probate, where Brooks Wills cannot at current. But it seems that there may be solicitors out there that view will writing as some sort of menial task that requires minimal effort with relatively high reward. We as the public just accept that they must know what they are talking about.

If you are going to rely on a solicitor to draft your will, then you need to make sure that they specialise in Private Client matters. Alarm bells should ring if they work in commercial law for example.

The bottom line is that you need to be vigilant with every will writer. Whether that is some company you have seen on TV or online, or whether it is your local high street law firm.

 

 

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