Will Writers and the Hard Sell of Poor Products
Think all will-writing services are the same? Think again
Read on if you would like to know how not to be ripped off for tens of thousands of pounds when drawing up a will.
There are dozens of UK will-writing companies. Many of them are excellent and provide a quality service at a fair price. A lot of them offer a comparable service to a solicitor, and some also use a solicitor to review your will (which gives you some legal protection).
The Wild West of will writing
However, did you know that this is an unregulated industry? Essentially, anyone can set themselves up as a will-writer; this means no qualifications, no accreditation, no requirement to be a member of a reputable legal body....and little to no comeback. Will writing is not a reserved activity and so is not covered by the Legal Services Act 2007.
That means, sadly, that there are a lot of 'cowboys' out there. There are plenty of horror stories of wills improperly executed, which could lead to, at worst, the will being declared invalid, or your assets being distributed in a way you did not intend.
The pressure-sell trap
Additionally, even if the will is properly executed, the will-writing firm may utilise sales tactics that significantly increase the cost at the time the will is drawn up, or cost your estate many thousands after your death. Often, these are done via home visits whereby pressure is exerted by a salesperson to get you to agree to additional services such as will storage, trust creation, or for them to be the Executor.
That's not to say all companies offering home visits are bad or high-pressure, or that the services are not worth having. They may use solicitors and be regulated. You may need a trust. You may need a lasting power of attorney. But I can't recommend any of them, because a) the stories online of mis-selling are legion, and b) where they are unregulated you can't be sure of the quality or have the benefit of legal protection beyond going to Court which could be very expensive.
Executor? Or just expensive middleman?
The most egregious examples are whereby the (often unregulated) will-writer names themselves as Executor on the will, either through sales pressure, or where the customer does not understand the role of Executor and simply doesn't realise. It may even be done without the knowledge of the customer. Of course, there are times where the will-writer being the Executor might be useful. For example, where no family members are capable of being the Executor (age, experience, mental competence etc.) or where all trusted family members have explicitly stated they don't want to have the responsibility. However, I'd strongly suggest that where this is the case, you use a trusted, ideally local solicitor. Ask around for personal recommendations.
A real-life example: £20,000 gone
I have personal experience of this after the second family death where I was one of the beneficiaries, whereby we discovered that the testator (my family member) had named the will-writer as the Executor. This was despite me being directly told that I was one of the two Executors by the family member, which raises the question of whether they understood what they were agreeing to. I never received a copy of the will, just a document giving me the access code for the will-writer's storage facility. We were surprised therefore to learn that for the pleasure of administering a very simple estate that the will-writer would take 3% just to be named as the Executor - plus the rights to be paid for all time spent administering the estate at over £200 an hour! Goodbye over £20k. Worse, they took about twice as long as I would have done - and I still had to manage the supply of documentation and sign off of tasks. The only 'benefit' was that they managed Probate (and actually managed to calculate an overpayment HMRC by £2k, which I spotted and got changed before final sign off), but a local solicitor could have done this for less than £5000.
Reviews that don't tell the whole story
If you do decide to use a will-writing service which manages the process via home visits, do your research. Don't believe the headline Trustpilot or Google Review scores either. Many of the reviews, even if genuine, are by people who met a lovely, friendly salesperson and think they were doing their family a favour. Read instead the reviews of the beneficiaries who later - unexpectedly - found the Executor was the will-writer, and have been left signing off month after month of bills during a period of grief, with no control of the estate. In the worst reviews, you can find people still waiting for an inheritance after two years and a bill exceeding £50k!
Read these before you sign anything
Don't just take my word for it. See these articles, one by a solicitor with good advice, and another from the Legal Services Consumer Panel, and finally from The Legal Ombudsman. You've been warned!
https://www.morrishsolicitors.com/be-aware-of-rogue-will-writers/
https://www.legalservicesconsumerpanel.org.uk/ourwork/will_writing/documents/STEP.pdf
https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/media/qbynear0/250121-willwriting-report-final-141016-3.pdf
Your best bet? Stay in control
Simply, I'd choose to avoid home visits from unregulated will-writers to avoid high-pressure sales tactics. There are plenty of online will-writers who are regulated and overseen by solicitors, charities who will provide wills drawn up by a solicitor, or go with either a nationally-recognised or local solicitor with good reviews. Or you can simply write your will - and then get it looked over for a lesser cost by a solicitor. For more information on your options, click here to know more about will writing and all your options, from simple and free, to complex and costly.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a will-writing service typically cost?
Prices vary hugely, from under £100 for a basic online service through to several hundred pounds for a home-visit service, before any add-ons like storage or trust creation are pushed on top. The real cost to watch for isn't the will itself, it's what happens if the firm is later named as executor and starts charging by the hour, as covered above.
How do I check if a will-writer is regulated?
Ask directly whether they're a member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters or the Society of Will Writers, both of which have codes of conduct and complaints procedures, or whether a solicitor reviews the will before it's signed. If they can't give you a clear answer, treat that as your answer.
Can I remove a will-writer as executor after the will is signed?
Yes, at any point while you're alive and have capacity, simply by making a new will or a codicil naming someone else. The problem only becomes irreversible once you've died, which is exactly why it's worth checking who's named as executor on your existing will today, not assuming.
Is it ever a good idea to use a will-writing service?
Yes, plenty are excellent, particularly ones that use a solicitor to review the final document and don't push additional products. The risk isn't the industry as a whole, it's the unregulated end of it, particularly home-visit sales models built around pressure and add-ons.
What's the difference between a will-writer and a solicitor?
A solicitor is a qualified, regulated legal professional with professional indemnity insurance and a formal complaints route through the Legal Ombudsman. A will-writer may have none of that, since the activity itself isn't legally reserved or regulated, which is the whole reason this page exists.
How do I find a trustworthy solicitor for my will instead?
The Law Society's Find a Solicitor tool lets you search by location and specialism, and a personal recommendation from someone who's actually used the service is worth more than any online review score. For a simple estate, expect to pay a fixed fee rather than an hourly rate, and ask upfront what that fee includes.
“I intend to live forever. So far, so good.”
Steven Wright
Get my no-nonsense death planning tips and latest news articles straight to your inbox - with a sprinkle of humour.
Bite-sized, practical and actionable advice that might just be the most valuable email you receive all month.
Plus get access to ALL my death-proofing templates in ONE place.
About the founder. I'm Alex Johnson, and I built Not So Grave after my father died suddenly in 2023. Going through his estate taught me more about death planning than any guide I could find at the time, partly because of the documents he'd left, and partly because of the gaps where he hadn't. I'm not a solicitor or a financial adviser, and I'll always tell you when to use one. What I am is someone who's been through it and wants to make your turn easier.
Links marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Full disclosure here.