Writing your will online seems to fit in with the way we live our lives now. We can do everything online - living in the digital age means people really do think everything they want is just a click away. However, the growing popularity of on-line will writing could lead to a surge in contested probate cases down the line.
Whilst a cheaper online will may be sufficient for a straightforward situation, many clients are often mistaken as to whether their affairs are 'simple' or 'complex', and some online will writing companies offer very little protection if something goes wrong. You can set yourself up as a will writer with no training, supervision, regulation or indemnity insurance. Even the larger firms with links to national charities do their utmost to exclude responsibility if things go wrong including not being responsible for checking on identity, mental capacity or undue influence (someone being forced to make a will in a certain way), and not being liable financially for anything going wrong apart from refunding the initial fee.
By comparison, solicitors are required to have professional indemnity insurance covering claims potentially as high as £2m or £3m.
Many of us have complicated lives now, even though we may not realise it. We may have a business, we may not be married to our partners, although we are still married to someone else, each of us may have children from previous relationships some of whom live with us and some of whom don’t (but for whom we are still financially responsible), we may be living with elderly relatives who have financially contributed to the cost of our home. All of these points should affect what we do in our wills, and the mere fact we haven’t considered them all may in itself invalidate them.
Please contact david Roper at david.roper@lawcomm.co.uk to organise a free discussion about your will requirements.
