Cold-callers offering low cost Wills
We have heard stories recently about cold-callers knocking on doors and offer low-cost Wills, and possibly other legal services. Inevitably, they target older people.
Some even imply that they are from a firm of solicitors. This is almost certainly not true as solicitors are prohibited from making cold calls. If a solicitor is mentioned on their literature, it is possible that they have an informal association with a local firm, or more likely that they have no association whatsoever.
Cold-caller
Word of warning
A great deal of caution should be exercised when dealing with these people.
It has been known for such cold-callers to create Wills which refer to a trust. Such a trust will come in to effect on death and will be administered by the company at great expense. The terms of this trust are not always clear, and will typically be buried in the “small print”, not easily decipherable by a lay person. A Will with such a trust could tie your family in to an expensive arrangement after your death.
If you have concerns we suggest you contact Consumer Direct at http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/ or telephone 08454 04 05 06. These non-solicitors are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
How to make a Will
It is very important to make a Will, which is a powerful document. To be sure of a professional service from an expert, we strongly suggest contacting local solicitors. Solicitors are unbiased and will not write anything in a Will which ties you or your family into any future arrangement (unless, unusually, you specifically request it).
For most people it is a quick and painless task, and it will be a huge weight off your mind.
If you have any experiences of cold-callers offering Wills and other legal services, we would be very interested to hear about them. Please feel free to leave comments, below.
