Cowboy will-writers 'have become widespread'
11 Aug 2010
People seeking to have a will drawn up need to be careful they do
not fall victim to cowboy service providers.
A new survey by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
(Step) shows that two-thirds of professional trust and estate
practitioners have come across "incompetence or dishonesty" in the
industry in the last year, the Law Society Gazette reports.
Some 63 per cent had dealt with the fallout of a will-writing
company going bust and disappearing with clients wills' and large
amounts of money, while two-thirds had seen firms charging hidden
fees after an initial quote.
In one case, a company had been approaching people in shopping
centres and telling them their children may be taken into care if
they did not make a will soon, then pressuring them into signing up
for its services.
"This research shows how widespread cowboy will-writers have
become," said Step spokesperson David Harvey.
He recommended only using accredited professionals to have a will
drawn up.
"They must have an appropriate qualification and they must have
proper indemnity insurance," the expert stressed.
This comes in the same week that an investigation by Panorama also
uncovered many incidents of fraudulent will-writing
companies.
According to BBC News, the programme-makers found some families had
been charged vast amounts of money, while other cases involved
beneficiaries having payments stolen or documents lost when they
were supposed to be in secure storage.
The report recommended using a proper solicitor for estate
planning, as they are governed by the law.
