Posted by Dave Seager, consulting adviser to Legal Futures Associate SIFA Professional
Seager: Perfect time to engage with your financial planning partners
Regular readers of the SIFA Professional blog here on Legal Futures will be aware that our 30 years-plus mission is to encourage greater solicitor/financial planner collaboration for mutual client benefit.
Last month, writing about the growing trend for holistic advice on divorce was a prime example.
Normally, we are highlighting when and in which arenas approaching and working with a financial professional will benefit you and your clients, but this month I am writing with a slightly altered perspective, urging you to educate your financial planning partners.
In May, the Law Commission published its long-awaited report on modernising wills and with this, a draft bill to replace the current legislation which dates back to 1837.
For lawyers who have been following the commission’s progress and various consultations the proposals will not have surprised, but is this the case for the fellow professionals you and your firms work with?
The reforms are significant and are widely anticipated to be taken forward by the government, so now would be an excellent time to reflect, not only on how the changes will affect your own clients and processes but also those of the financial planners you refer to and importantly receive referrals from.
The following might be areas for discussion and education:
No will revocation by marriage
Your financial colleagues are tuned into client vulnerability, and even predatory marriages but are they aware that under the new rules, an existing will will no longer become invalid when entering a new marriage or civil partnership?
For financial planners, the need therefore to ensure client’s wills and arrangements are reviewed and reflect their wishes post-divorce/separation is vital.
Electronic wills
The need for a move to the digital age and to electronic wills is widely accepted and indeed needed when currently, less than 50% of adults have made one.
If making a will is easier and better reflects the processes we are familiar with elsewhere, it must be welcomed but there will be more detail to come on this. There will need to be robust safeguards introduced and the commission has indicated there must be a government authorised central digital storage facility.
Make your financial planning partners aware that paper wills will still be an option and keep them informed on your own firm’s processes for electronic wills as they evolve.
Dispensing power
The Law Commission has recommended that in cases where a will is invalid but a person’s intentions are clear, there needs to be a mechanism making it possible to give effect to those intentions.
It suggests: “The court will be able to look at any record made by the testator which expresses their testamentary intentions, including electronic documents, as well as video and sound recordings.
“To exercise the power, the court will have to be satisfied that what the records show are the clear and genuine testamentary intentions of the deceased person. The court will also have to be satisfied that these testamentary intentions remained unchanged at the time of the person’s death: that they truly were the person’s settled wishes with respect to their estate.”
Whilst there are some concerns about dispensing power, it seems an excellent point at which to begin a conversation with financial planning partners about wills, properly drafted by qualified solicitors, which will always reflect a client’s exact wishes and tie in with any estate planning in situ.
The age to make a valid will to be lowered to 16
The age of testamentary capacity in England and Wales will be lowered to 16. This is seen as a positive change allowing 16- and 17-year-olds the freedom to decide who to leave their assets to.
Whilst occasions where this facility is required may be infrequent, it is still a major change to discuss with collaborating colleagues.
Undue influence
The Law Commission discusses undue influence extensively, acknowledging the challenge of proving undue influence, particularly if there is only circumstantial evidence. Such coercion of course is likely to be hard to prove after the testator has died.
Therefore, it recommends that, where undue influence is alleged and there is evidence to provide ‘reasonable grounds’, a court will be able to infer that undue influence took place, placing the responsibility for the burden of proof on the person seeking to prove the will to satisfy the court.
The commission has attached to this a further recommendation for the testator to demonstrate they understood the content and effect of the will, introducing a ‘knowledge and approval’ requirement into statute.
It is here that it is incumbent on you to educate your financial planning partners on the importance of using you for their clients’ wills, so everything is properly explained and understood.
Legacy giving
Whilst not part of the Law Commission report, also last month, Legacy Futures with Smee and Ford, published its Legacy Giving Report 2025.
This indicates that donations from individual estates to charities in wills is up a staggering 22% since last year and now represents 9% overall increase in legacy giving. Legacy gifts now represent an average of 30% of fundraised income across the top 1,000 legacy supported charities, this is far more than a fad for clients, and charities such as the RNLI, are running high-profile campaigns.
Given this, it is an area you should discuss with your financial planning colleagues. Financial planners will be discussing clients’ goals and aspirations in detail and, if supporting a particular charity is important to them, they need to know you are ready, willing and able to advise.
Overall, this a perfect time to re-engage with your chosen financial planning partners, to bring them up to speed and to highlight your own professionalism and expertise.
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