Recommendations from the legal regulator to the Lord Chancellor said alternatives to statutory regulation of will writing had failed.
David Edmonds, chairman of the Legal Services Board, said: “Regulation is a proportionate response in the light of a compelling case underpinned by appropriate evidence.”
The LSB’s recommendation, if accepted, will give consumers access to redress by allowing access to the Legal Ombudsman for consumers of all will-writing providers and create a level playing field between traditional law firms and new forms of service provider by making both subject to equivalent regulation.
However, the Law Society said the LSB should have gone further.
Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, president of the Law Society, said: “We welcome the recommendations to regulate will-writing activities, however we remain concerned that there is no regulation or monitoring in place to ensure that administrators do not misappropriate the estate’s assets.”
Industry view
Ian Muirhead, managing director of adviser and legal body SIFA, said: “This has been on the agenda for a while. There are already organisations that purport to equip IFAs to write standard wills.
“This change could commoditise the industry. I guess there will now be more questions about liability.”
