Five tips to choosing a Will-writer

Will-writing is not a regulated activity: anyone can legally write a Will for you. That makes your choice of Will-writer the single most important decision in the process. Here is what to check.

1. Ask about qualifications first

The professional standard in estate planning is STEP - the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Full members (TEPs) are internationally recognised specialists with proven qualifications and experience. Fewer than 1 in 5 UK Will-writers hold a professional-standard qualification, so this one question does most of the filtering. Every Kinherit plan is built by a STEP-qualified estate planner.

2. Understand the difference between qualifications and memberships

Industry bodies such as the Society of Will Writers and the Institute of Professional Willwriters set codes of practice and require insurance - worthwhile protections, and Kinherit is an IPW member. But membership of an industry body is not the same as holding a professional qualification. Solicitors are regulated professionals, but estate planning is a specialism: a general practitioner is not a Wills specialist by virtue of being a solicitor. Ask about both.

3. Check the small print

The classic traps: the Will-writer appointing themselves executor and charging a percentage of the estate; probate reselling clauses; and storage or retrieval fees. A low headline price with these attached is not a low price.

4. Ask how the Will is protected against challenge

Contested Wills are rising. Ask how capacity is recorded, whether calls are recorded, and how the reasoning behind unusual provisions is documented. A competent Will-drafter should be able to answer these questions.

5. Ask what happens beyond the Will

Guardianship for children. Inheritance Tax. What happens to your assets if your partner remarries. Whether your executors will actually be able to find everything. The Will specifies where assets go and who is in charge of sorting everything out - but the plan beyond that is just as important.

Key takeaways

• One question filters most of the market: what qualification does my adviser hold?
• STEP is the professional standard; industry memberships are supplementary
• The small print, not the headline price, is where cheap Wills get expensive

Book a complimentary, no-obligation consultation with a STEP-qualified estate planner.