Legal Experts Welcome New Initiative To Provide Service Guarantee

By Rob Dixon

Lawyers specialising in will writing have welcomed the release of new details regarding the Law Society’s new Will and Inheritance Quality Scheme, which is set to be open for membership from the end of October.

The initiative has been created to develop a quality standard for wills, probate and estate administration providers which will also help to differentiate law firms from other non-solicitor service providers.

By offering accreditation, the Law Society hopes the scheme will ensure that the public are fully aware of the quality of service offered by SRA-regulated firms and are able to access information on their nearest providers via its website.

The release of the details related to the initiative, which was originally proposed last year, has been welcomed by Irwin Mitchell’s specialist Wills, Trust and Probate team. The experts provide advice on planning for the future and assist people looking to put provisions in place regarding how they want their estate to be handled.

Gillian Coverley, a Partner and head of the Wills team at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Putting together a carefully worded and comprehensive will is an important task and a vital way of ensuring that such document completely reflects your wishes is to get quality, specialist advice.

“The introduction of this scheme will prove incredibly useful in ensuring that consumers are fully aware of whether they are getting support from SRA-regulated law firms, like Irwin Mitchell, or other non-solicitor organisations.

“We have had concerns for some time over the fact that the mix of regulated and unregulated providers in this area means consumers have not been able to access consistent services, or been able to get redress in the event of problems arising in relation to their wills.

“It is vital that consumers always consider their options when it comes to this important issue and this accreditation should help greatly by providing recognition of the quality information and support that law firms can offer in this area.”

Read more about Irwin Mitchell's expertise in relation to Wills