How clear are will writers?

Researchers for the Office of Fair Trading asked over 600 people about their experience of having a will made.  80% or more were satisfied with their wills and felt they could understand them.  But consumer satisfaction is no measure of quality, as shown by comments such as “It looks professional – there is fancy scroll work and fonts”, and “Two pages does not seem like a lot for the money”.  When lawyers reviewed 102 of these wills, only 75% were acceptable. The others failed for reasons including poor drafting, invalid execution, and not following the testator’s wishes.

The researchers also interviewed 97 solicitors and other will-writers.  27% of them held “negative opinions over the clarity of wills written in the market generally”, blaming “legal jargon and outmoded terminology” for this lack of clarity.  A formal investigation has now begun into whether will-writing should become regulated, although the study found little difference between solicitors and unregulated will-writers.

Research report: Understanding the consumer experience of will-writing services, July 2011

PS: In February 2013, the Legal Services Board recommended that will writing should be reserved to qualified lawyers. But the government rejected the recommendation. An investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority in 2016 left the position unchanged. Will writing remains unregulated. For more information, see Commons Library briefing paper: Regulation of will writers.