Will-drafting firms use small print to slice
thousands off inheritances
Call for tighter controls on will writing after executors hit families with
exhorbitant bills
David Budworth
Anyone who has written a will should carefully re-examine the terms after it emerged that
many will drafting firms, including leading banks, hide huge fees in the small print that can
slice tens of thousands of pounds off an inheritance.
This is only one of the failings that has prompted calls for tighter controls on will writing, a
service that remains largely unregulated. Citizens Advice says that increasing numbers of
people are being conned out of hundreds of pounds by bogus companies that take the money
and never deliver a promised will. Others have been persuaded to pay for wills that are not
worth the paper they are written on.
Barclays Wealth, an offshoot of the high street bank, tried to charge John and Judy Berryman,
from Godstone, Surrey, tens of thousands of pounds to act as executors of the will of John’s
aunt, Valerie Sage.
The bank was appointed executor when it drew up Miss Sage’s will, giving it the right to
handle the administration of her estate after death. The Berrymans are convinced that their
aunt would never have agreed to this if she had been aware of the charges, which were hidden
in the small print. After her death, in November, Barclays Wealth initially said it would take
a fee of 4 per cent of the estate — a total of £25,200.
Judy Berryman says: “I expect to pay a fair price for a job well done. I do, however, have a
large problem with the blatant abuse of the trust placed in Barclays by an elderly lady. At the
best the handling of our aunt’s affairs was distasteful and at worst downright unethical.”
An estimated 90,000 people a year find themselves forced into accepting executors specified
in their relatives’ wills, whether will-writing companies, solicitors or banks, and to pay the
charges they impose. Experts say that many of these companies lure people in by offering to
write the will for just a few hundred pounds, or even less — Barclays Wealth charges £90 to
write a single will or it is free to customers with a fee-paying Additions current account.
However, they skirt over the bumper fees that will be charged after death, which generate
millions of pounds of revenue for the companies involved.
Adam Walker, of Final Duties, an independent probate broker, says: “Some firms use
forceful tactics to persuade customers to appoint them as executors without explaining the
scale of the fees that will be charged. People think they are getting a good deal because firms
offer discounted will-writing services for as little as £50, or even free, without realising that
the charges for administering the estate after their death will cost thousands of pounds.”
When Times Money investigated some of the leading will-writing services earlier this week
all of them offered their services as executor online, but few spelt out the costs.
The AA and Age Concern and Help the Aged, which use an online will-writing service
offered by the solicitors Irwin Mitchell, are not explicit about the costs in their web pages.
Skipton Trustees, part of Skipton Building Society, boasts a will-writing service from only
£111, but requires customers to phone one of its advisers for details of how much it charges
to act as executor.
All of them claimed that it is not easy to put a cost on the administration of an estate after
death as it depends on its size and complexity.
This lack of clarity makes it difficult for consumers to compare fees and means that a figure
quoted to someone writing the will may bear no relation to the actual cost charged after
death.
Barclays Wealth, which writes 20,000 wills a year, includes details of its fees in its terms and
conditions, but the Berrymans say that they were forced to trawl through the small print
before they discovered how much the bank planned to charge.
Mrs Berryman says: “When we asked Barclays how much we would be charged, it skirted
around the question and referred us to the brochure. It was only when we read the small print
that we realised just how extortionate the fees were. The information, while not withheld, was
not volunteered.”
Many will-writing services imply that it is essential to appoint a professional as an executor.
Acting as an executor can be time consuming, involving tracing and selling assets, paying tax
and debts and distributing what is left.
However, experts say that unless the estate is complex, the task can be performed by unpaid
friends or family members. The process — mainly a matter of letter writing — is likely to
take about 20 to 25 hours, over a couple of months.
Peter McCarthy, senior lawyer for Which? Legal Service, says: “If your circumstances are
relatively straightforward, then appointing a trusted friend relative or one of your children, if
they are over the age of 18, as executor of your will is the best course of action.
“Appointing a solicitor or bank as executor can work out to be expensive, as some banks
charge anything up to 4 or even 5 per cent of the value of the estate, regardless of how
complex it actually is to deal with.”
Once you appoint a professional in your will you enter into a binding legal contract. If you
wish to remove an unwanted executor from the will you can do this using a codicil. This
allows you to make the alteration without changing the rest of the will. However, it works
only if the person drawing up the will is still alive. If the beneficiaries want to change a
named bank, solicitor or will writing company after death they can ask it to renounce
executorship, giving a reason, such as unreasonable costs. Barclays Wealth agreed to
renounce its executorship of Miss Sage’s will after the Berrymans approached Final Duties,
an independent probate broker, which found a quote for the same work for £4,485.
The bank says: “We are sorry that Mr Berryman feels that he and his family have had a poor
experience and we have worked closely with him in order to address his concerns.”
If an institution refuses to budge, and you think that its fees are unreasonable, they can be
removed only by making an application to the High Court.
If you need help to administer an estate you can always appoint a solicitor after death but
should seek quotes from a number of sources. Experts say that fees at a good provincial
solicitors should come to about 2 per cent of a routine estate and the work should take two
months. However, if you appoint a professional, keep a close eye on their actions to check
they are working in your best interests.
Unwelcome fees are not the only problem that can arise after writing a will. Citizens Advice
has warned people to be wary of bogus will-writing services that advertise “cut price” deals
in local papers, cold call on the phone or on the doorstep. Once people part with their money,
some never receive the promised will or discover that it is worthless.
A spokesman for Citizens Advice says: “Often the bogus will writers exploit the elderly and
people on low incomes who can’t afford to use a solicitor and have little experience of legal
documents.”
The numerous problems have prompted a debate over whether will-writing companies should
be better regulated. A recent report on the regulation of legal services, by Lord Hunt of
Wirral, expressed concerns about the “fringe legal market” in will writing and probate.
The Legal Services Board, another regulator, also plans to investigate whether will writing
should be regulated this year.
If the will-writing service is offered directly by a bank, the Financial Ombudsman Service
will consider complaints. The Law Society oversees solicitors and investigates complaints
against them. However, anyone can set themselves up as an unregulated will writer, leaving
consumers without a body to turn to should they have a problem.
Take care of your will
- Compare the costs of a number of will-writing services before choosing.
- Don’t assume that if you use a solicitor or will writer that you will get an expert, so always
ask about their qualifications.
- Check whether the will-writing business you plan to use is regulated.
- Always approach relatives or friends who you are thinking of appointing as an executor to
see if they are willing to take on the responsibility.
- If you are named in someone else’s will as an executor you may have to apply for probate to
wind up the estate. Probate is issued by the Probate Service at www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk