L
osing everything you’ve
worked hard for or
everything your family have
worked hard to accumulate doesn’t
bare thinking about, and you
should take all reasonable steps to
protect your assets.
You wouldn’t buy a car without
checking the garage’s reputation
and credibility so don’t be taken in
by a Will Writer or Solicitor either.
For the sake of a phone call or
internet search, run a check on the
person or firm you intend to use.
The fact is that anyone can hold
themselves out as a Will writer, but
this doesn’t mean they’re honest,
trustworthy or dependable.
The Society of Will Writers (SWW)
exist to provide a consumer
safeguard to members of the
public who choose to have their
Will or succession documents
drafted by an SWW member. We
do this by vetting practitioners with
stringent entry requirements and
annual renewals at which point the
member in question is required to
provide us with up to date proof of
insurance and CPD.
CPD stands for Continuous
Professional Development. We
expect all SWW members to train
themselves on an annual basis and
report the training undertaken to
the SWW.
Putting these safeguards in place
is one way that we work to provide
you with professionals who are
‘safe to do business with’.
The use of our logo is strictly a
membership benefit and the SWW
work with the Intellectual Property
Office where people purport to be
members and aren’t compliant.
As a consumer you shouldn’t
simply rely on someone displaying
the SWW logo. With over 1700
members working under the SWW
banner you should make the
necessary checks on the person
coming to visit you.
We supply all members with an
annual I.D card and certificate
of compliance. These should be
shown to you upon request. There
is no harm in asking to see sight
of the professional’s insurance
as well. Whilst you might not
know what to look out for, if it is
a current certificate of insurance
(professional indemnity) covering
their Will writing business then
this should be fine. The SWW set a
minimum requirement of £2million
as a level of indemnity.
If you’re ever unsure about the
person coming to see you, give us
a call. We’re only too happy to help.
If you have concerns about a Will
Writer, report them to us, trading
standards and if you suspect fraud
then notify the police or Action
Fraud.
As the largest self-regulatory
body of our type we work with
organisation like the Legal
Services Board, The Competitions
and Market Authority and the
Law Commission on matters
relating to consumer protections,
transparency within our industry
and regarding the legislation
governing the creation of these
legal documents.
When it comes to the pricing that
Will Writers charge the SWW
chooses to have no input on this
and there are many variables
which govern the charges in place.
There will be statutory charges
for things like the registration
of Lasting Power of Attorney
Documents, the complexity of the
documents needed, and the level
of advice provided. Whilst we will
never comment on prices charged
it is worth consulting a number
of Will writers and not allowing
any practitioner to force you into
making any decisions.
Whilst it’s likely that a practitioner
will have a great level of knowledge
on the subject of succession law,
this doesn’t mean you need to
accept thei r advice. Where you
choose not to follow the advice of
the Will writer, they may ask you to
sign something to this effect. This
will mean that should a claim arise
on the grounds of advice in the
future, the Will writer will be able to
show the advice provided and the
decision made by the client.
If you ever have any concerns, give
us a call and we’ll talk this through
with you.
If you’re a Will Writer and would
like to come under the umbrella
of the SWW then call our
membership team to understand
more about the support, advice
and self-regulatory framework we
provide.
Will Writing Code of Practice
The Society of Will Writers
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