We can offer secure storage for your Will, or you can choose to store it yourself. If that is the case, we advise you to store it somewhere that is safe and secure, where it can not be damaged by flood or fire. You will also need to make sure that your family or executor knows where this is stored. We offer Will storage through The National Will Archive. Please discuss this with a member of our team.

The clear answer is this is no! We will never be listed as a beneficiary or as executors, so we can never benefit from your estate. 

Some types of activities are referred to as ‘reserved legal activities’ and these may only be carried out by regulated legal professionals such as lawyers, solicitors and barristers – they then come under the regulatory control of the Legal Services Board (LSB);  although any legal activities that do not fall under this category can be delivered by persons that may not have any legal qualification. However all legal professionals are regulated by professional bodies even when completing activities that are not on the list of ‘reserved legal activities’.

Although the question of changing the act of Will writing to become a ‘reserved legal activity’ has been debated over the last decade, in May 2014 the Government reviewed this and confirmed that there was no intention to regulate the Will writing industry, instead favouring self-regulation which includes codes of conduct and education schemes, Technically, this means anyone can write a Will, without legal qualifications. This is how it is possible for people to write will for themselves. 

As the profession is not regulated, it does mean anyone could call themselves a Will Writer without any form of training. This can cause a risk to consumers, as choosing someone without any training or specialised knowledge could lead to invalid or incorrect Wills. 

However, there are two professional bodies for Will writers which are The Society of Will Writers (SWW) and The Institute of Professional Will Writers (IPW). Both of these bodies have strict codes of practice that their members must adhere to in order to gain membership. Therefore, choosing a member of one of these organisations is highly recommended to ensure consumers protection. 

Glamorgan Legacy Ltd have full membership with The Society of Will Writers (SWW), meaning we musyt adhere to their strict codes of practice and carry full professional indemnity insurance for any documents produced.  

The Society of Will Writers was established in 1994 and is the largest and leading self regulating independent body that represents  the professional Will writers and protect the public. The SWW has members all over the world and they state ‘Our Code of Practice, ethics and philosophy puts the consumer at the heart of our aims to ensure that through our membership you receive the very best of service’

The SWW ‘ensure that the professional applying for membership has professional indemnity insurance, will adhere to our Code of Practice and continues to develop their knowledge on a regular business. Membership with the SWW ensures that their members are safe to provide the service to the public. All members are registered, even if trading has ceased, so that the SWW has detailed records to ensure your documents can be accessed. 

Furthermore, SWW members like our company are supported so that we are kept up to date with any implications or changes of legislation and have access to technical advisors to support us. This ensures we give out the most up to date and relevant advice in relation to your estate. 

You could choose a solicitor or a Will writing company or even write your own Will using a Will Kit. However, the risk of doing it yourself is that you don’t get any advice and you also risk your Will being invalid, if it is not signed of witnessed correctly or is not written clearly enough. This could mean your wishes are not met and your estate is not allocated as you intended. 

Make sure if you choose a Will writing company, like ourselves, that they have membership with the SWW or IPW to ensure you are protected. 

By choosing a company such as ourselves that is a member of the SWW to write your Will, there are additional benefits such as: 

• Continued yearly training.
• Professional indemnity insurance with cover of £2 million. 
• We adhere to their strict code of practice and complaints procedure. 
• Our membership was only granted following a robust application process.
• We have technical support to ensure we offer the best service to our clients.
• We offer a statutory cooling off period of 14 days in accordance with the Consumer Contract Regulations.
• You can expect to receive and high quality service with the protection and benefits of dealing with a SWW member.

At Glamorgan Legacy Ltd, as members of the SWW, we adhere to the ten principles that all consumers can expect from members of the society: 

1. A Member must act with integrity.
2. A Member must conduct his or her business with due skill, care and diligence.
3. A Member must observe proper standards when marketing his or her business to the general public.
4. A Member must pay due regard to the interests of his or her client and treat them fairly. 
5. A Member must communicate information to his or her client in a way that is far and not misleading. 
6. A Member must not create a conflict of interest between himself and his or her client. 
7. A Member must take reasonable care to ensure the suitability of any advice given to his or her client. 
8. A Member must ensure that any assets that she or he holds on behalf of a client are fully protected. 
9. A Member must practice equality and respect diversity. 
10. A Member must comply with legal and regulatory requirements including full observance of The Society of Will Writers Code of Practice. 

As you choose Glamorgan Legacy Ltd as your estate planners, we can ensure that we will comply to all of the statements above, giving you piece of mind. 

More details of the SWW principles can be found here