Steele Rose & Co

QUALIFICATION OF WILL WRITERS

The Legal Services Consumer Panel report sent to the Legal Services Board on 14 July 2011 confirmed that solicitors with their extensive code of conduct are just as likely to provide poor quality wills as unregulated will writers. So regulation with a well established a code of conduct may not always be effective.

Many of the reported problems associated with will writers are already illegal under general law, including the preparation of papers for probate. Most will writers do not offer probate so the preparation of wills for a fee could be considered separately from the provision of probate services.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel identified poor quality wills as their major concern and this applied to all will providers.

The most cost effective way to address the concerns in the report is to require all those preparing wills to be STEP Certified. A STEP Certificate for the preparation of wills would be a sensible alternative to more expensive and ineffective regulation that will reduce the availability of an affordable and convenient will writing service for the general public.

All those who pass the STEP Will Preparation Certificate Course qualify as Affiliate Members and are subject to the STEP Code of Professional Conduct. Certified will writers should require their consultants and other non will writing staff to comply with the code where relevant.

The same STEP will preparation qualification requirement may be applied to all will providers including bankers, legal executives, solicitors, accountants, will writers and paralegals. 

The LSCP report states that an approved regulator must not have a representation function on behalf of their members and this has implications for trade associations.

Steele Rose & Co Limited are Members of The Professional Association of Legal Services, Corporate Members of the Institute of Paralegals, Members of the Society of Will Writers and appointed Legal Service Providers for the Forces Pension Society.

Legal Services Office: 7 Deans Farm, Stratford sub Castle, Salisbury SP1 3YP.
Registered Office: The Parsonage, Stratford sub Castle, Salisbury SP1 3LH.
Regional Offices throughout England and Wales*
Registered in England No. 3392519 (in 1997) - VAT No. 750 5846 22
Tel: 01722 410009 - Fax: 01722 411666
email: src@303.org.uk

Steele Rose & Co have £2 Million Professional Indemnity Insurance