WILLWRITING ARTICLE AND CONTACTS FOR PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

3.55.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 26th Feb 2008

Have you made a will yet? Before I was elected I worked part time as a will-writer with a professional and ethical company called the Will Writing Company. (It did what it said on the tin!).

If your circumstances are simple, you can get a form from WH Smith, but with the high value of property and the low threshold of inheritance tax, complications brought about by divorce, the need to consider step-children and so on, writing a will has become less and less straightforward.

So many people use professionals to do the job for them. But you may be shocked to know that anyone can put a sign on their door and profess to be a professional will writer. You don't need a legal training, you don't need indemnity insurance in case you give wrong advice: indeed you could be a convicted fraudster and still be able to get access to people's financial affairs. Scary, huh?

And you may have seen adverts for cheap wills for only about £20. How can you get a professional person to write your will for £20? The answer is you can't. There'll be loads of 'extras' which you'll be advised you need, and you may end up paying many hundreds of pounds more than you thought.

So last week I commissioned a debate in Parliament calling for a requirement for will writers to register and to sign up to a professional code. The Minister was sympathetic and said she would legislate if it became apparent that a significant number of people were being ripped off. So if YOU know anyone this has happened to, please get in touch.

But if you haven't made a will don't put it off. If you have children, own a home, are married or divorced or hold assets worth more than £300,000, you risk leaving a mess for your loved ones to sort out and your wishes regarding the disposal of your estate not being carried out.

Seventy per cent of people die without leaving a valid will. So whether you use a solicitor, a will writer or a 'do it yourself' form, just do it and don't put it off any longer. If you use a will writer make sure they belong to one of their two professional organisations: the Institute of Professional Will Writers or the Society of Will Writers.

THE SOCIETY OF WILL WRITERS www.thesocietyofwillwriters.co.uk

INSTITUTE OF PROFESSIONAL WILL WRITERS www.ipw.org.uk