News about the Institute and other issues relating to Willwriting.
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+Institute welcomes opportunity to save tax by making a Will 24/03/2011The Institute has welcomed the budget announcement to encourage people to make a charitable legacy in their Wills
Paul Sharpe, chairman of the Institute said "Making a legacy to a charity really should be the norm, so any measures from Government to encourage people to make charitable legacies in their Wills is most welcome. The reduction in the inheritance tax rate by 10per cent for those who leave at least 10 per cent of their wealth to charity in their Will is great news, which has the potential to raise millions for charities and should encorage more people to make a Will."
A recent survey of Institute members on behalf of Remember a Charity, a consortium of over 140 charities, found that members of the Institute were twice as likely to ask their clients about leaving a gift to charity in their Wills - and as a result the number of Wills written by Institute members which includes a charitable gift was double the norm in the whole sector.
Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity said, "It’s important to remember that charitable legacies are not just for the rich. All gifts, large or small, can make an enormous difference. If we all left a gift to charity after taking care of friends and family, we could raise billions of pounds a year for our favourite charities.”
Rob Cope added: “The UK legacy market is currently worth almost £2 billion a year, the equivalent of more than 24 Comic Relief appeals. A 4% change would represent a further £1 billion a year for good causes.”
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+Britons too embarrassed to talk about parents finances 14/03/2011
Recent research published by National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has found that over a third (36%) of the population whose parents are still alive do not know if their parents have a will, or how their parents plan to distribute their estate and more than two-fifths of the population (46%) admit they do not know where any of their parents’ important financial documents are kept
One often unanticipated problem highlighted by NS&I’s research is that many British people admit they would not know where to find the relevant paper work needed in the event of a parent’s incapacity or death. More than two-fifths of the population (46%) admit they do not know where any of their parents’ important documents are kept, and less than a third of people (27%) know where their parents’ wills are kept, making a stressful time even more so during a time of loss. NS&I’s Savings Survey reveals that only 7% of British people have spoken to their parents about inheritance
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Only a third (33%) know where their parents’ bank account details are kept
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Fewer than a quarter (24%) know where information about their parents’ savings funds are kept
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Only one in five people (21%) know where their parents’ deeds to the house are kept
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Less than a third (31%) know where their parents’ birth certificates are kept
NS&I’s research highlights that almost a third of people (31%) admit they have ‘no idea’ about their parents’ financial plans. A quarter (25%) of British people say they will rely on an inheritance to help in the future. Lack of communication about money management means over a third (36%) of the population do not know if their parents have a will, or how they plan to distribute their estate.
When asked why Britons aren’t speaking with their family about this, 12% say it is simply not a priority for them, and 6% prefer to push these conversations back to a later date, assuming there will be enough time in the future. Interestingly, nearly one in ten people (9%) say their parents don’t like discussing the subject with them, and 11% say they don’t want to think about their parents passing away. 6% say they find it an embarrassing subject to talk about.
NS&I spokesperson Tim Mack says, “Later life financial planning is an important issue which affects everyone. It might be a sensitive subject, but every member of a family should try and encourage the others to sit down together and talk about this openly. This is a chance for parents to have honest conversations with their children about the importance of planning ahead, and provides an opportunity for parents to share advice from their own experiences on this matter”.
NS&I is encouraging people to bridge this gap of communication as soon as possible, and there are many benefits in doing so. 13% of the population say talking to loved ones provides a positive opportunity to discuss using the money for events, such as holidays, before the individual passes away, while 14% feel it can be a welcome chance for family members to input to the will. Half (49%) of people whose parents have passed away said it was especially important to have these conversations early because it allowed time for financial matters to be discussed in a calm fashion, instead of being held in times of stress.
The BBC programme, Can’t Take It With You encouraged people to look at later life financial planning such as writing wills. The presenter Sir Gerry Robinson, adds, “With people leading such busy lives, it is sometimes a rare occasion for all family members to be in one room at the same time; this can make it very tempting to push these family discussions back to a ‘more appropriate’ time. In reality, there will never be a ‘good time’ to bring tricky subject matters like inheritance into conversation, and the longer these discussions are avoided, the more likely it is that unforeseen problems may arise with future financial matters”.Currently, less than a quarter (21%) of the population recognises the importance of speaking with family members about inheritance and family financial planning. NS&I is encouraging more people to take the time to sit down together and open up discussions about the family’s future finances.
However IPW Chairman Paul Sharpe said "Discussing your financial circumstances and the content of your will, even with your children, is not always a good idea and these are subjects that many people, understandably, want to keep private. What is far more important is that people do actually make a Will, keep it safely, tell nobody what is in the Will, but tell everybody where the Will is being kept."
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+IPW supports Law Society campaign to ban 'Cowboy Willwriters' 01/03/2011
The Law Society of England and Wales has launched a campaign calling on Government to make Willwriting a reserved (regulated) activity.
Part of the 'manifesto' states "We do not advocate that solicitors never make mistakes - the key point is not who can draft a better will, but what safeguards are in place to promote high standards and provide protection when something goes wrong"
IPW Chairman Paul Sharpe said
'Regulation of Willwriting is something that we have been campaigning for for decades so we support the aims of the Law Society. I am glad to see that the Law Society has recognised the shortcomings in its own professional standards. Perhaps the Law Society should get its own store in order before campaigning for others to do so. One only has to look at the submissions made to the Legal Services Consumer Panel recently* to understand that a great number of problems with Wills are caused by solicitors. A start would be to restore the requirement for any solicitor offering Willwriting services to have actually studied the subject before they do so. Currently Wills is an optional subject on the road to becoming a solicitor so its possible to have a Will drafted by a solicitor who has far less technical expertise that some Willwriters. This is especially true of Willwriters who are members of the IPW who are required to study the subject of Wills and who have equivalent mechanisms of address through their Code of Practice which has been approved by the Office of Fair Trading.'
* Examples of problems with Wills caused by Willwriters and solicitors alike can be found here
