K.I.S.S
In his first foreword as editor of Private Client Adviser, Binyamin Ali looks at the increasingly loose ground occupied by wills
I have thought long and hard about how best to approach my first foreword; do I seek out
a motivational quote, express my rage about something, or should I be controversial?
But as often happens when we're looking for inspiration, I remembered a piece of advice someone once gave me. 'Keep it simple and concise', my journalism lecturer would tell me. In other words: keep it simple, stupid (KISS).
Those words served me well throughout my training and so far during my journalistic career, so I see little point in changing tact now.
I have been made editor of Private Client Adviser and been given the privilege of continuing to edit this magazine. My goal is to ensure that our readers are always up to date and shaping the debate in their specialism.
To this end, and following a succession of developments in the area, a look at the state
of wills seems appropriate.
Following the government's decision in 2013 not to regulate will writing, the legal industry has done what it can to fill the regulator-shaped hole in the field.
The SRA issued guidance which only applies to solicitors, but is not mandatory as it's not part of the SRA handbook. The Law Society launched its voluntary WIQS scheme and STEP issued its own code, which is binding on all members, whether or not they're solicitors.
Though a good starting point, it seems very likely that customers wishing to access the often confusing realm of legal services will be further confused by a trio of isolated, albeit broadly similar, standards.
In the interests of protecting customers who may be duped by self proclaimed 'accredited' will writers, surely a truly common set of standards, established and overseen by all three bodies, would have been more progressive?
It would certainly have given the industry a robust solution to customers keen to avoid the same fate as Ebenezer Aregbesola's daughter.
As it happens, advisers may no longer be able to offer a deed of variation in the event
of a badly drawn will. The government has launched a consultation into their use.
The recent Ilot ruling was a consequence of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, but watershed cases such as this are a by-product of law. Its effects should be noted.
What's more, the EU Succession Regulation (Brussels IV) has come into effect.
With so much change taking place, and the government extremely likely to fiddle with deeds of variation, now is the time to have another look at your clients' wills.
Now, if only there was a simple and concise way of reviewing all of those wills...
Binyamin Ali is the editor of Private Client Adviser