Private Client
Wills and probate market could top £3bn by 2027
The wills, trust and probate market could be worth over £3bn by 2027, new research has found, with “stronger demand” for powers of attorney and contentious probate.
Lawyers split over action on wills to address ‘predatory marriages’
Private client lawyers are divided over whether the rule that marriage or civil partnership automatically revokes a will should be scrapped as a way to combat ‘predatory marriages’.
MPs launch inquiry into lengthening probate delays
MPs have launched an inquiry into probate in the wake of mounting concern about how long the process is taking, with HM Courts & Tribunals Service admitting to rising levels of complaints.
Solicitor who practised unauthorised for son’s business is suspended
A solicitor who practised unauthorised and handled reserved probate work for a company owned by her non-solicitor son after her firm closed has been suspended for three months.
Online probate process “taking longer than paper”
Private client lawyers believe the new online probate process is taking longer than the old paper-based system, with family solicitors and civil litigators also unhappy with digital processes.
Solicitor attorneys fined £22k for home insurance failure
Two solicitors who failed in their duties as attorneys under a lasting power of attorney have each been fined £11,250 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
New legislation could introduce electronic wills “immediately”
A new Wills Act could permit electronic wills to be introduced “immediately”, rather than enabling the Lord Chancellor to introduce them in the future, the Law Commission says today.
Law firms “failing to respond” to consumer enquiries
Law firms are losing business by failing to get back to potential clients, with as many as one in five enquiries going unanswered, new research shows.
“Catalogue of mistakes” – STEP makes case for will-writing regulation
Nearly half of consumers who have a will either wrote their own or obtained it through a cheap online service, with hardly any checking the credentials of the provider.
Solicitor failed to spot conflict in property deals for vulnerable client
A solicitor failed to spot a conflict of interest when a vulnerable client’s attorneys bought five properties using her money but gave themselves a 50% ownership stake in each.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
