Paul Sharpe bemoans the lack of regulation in willwriting
To regulate, or not to regulate, that is the question—or at least it should be. Willwriting is a huge responsibility, the level of accuracy and clarity of a will making the difference between a deceased person’s last wishes being enacted, or their loved ones being caught up in years of expensive legal wrangling.
Unfortunately, however, in a world where even the sale of a £10.99 travel insurance policy has to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), a will, potentially dictating what happens to six figure sums of money, can be drawn up by anyone. If a consumer approaches the milkman, or the student who flunked all their exams and needs some fast cash, they will find someone able to draw up a will for them without any fear of the law hitting them hard. This is the sorry state of affairs existing in willwriting. Fundamentally, those professionals who wish to distance themselves from the incompetent, fraudulent and fly-by-night operators only have one choice—to become members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters
