Solicitors remain most popular choice for wills

Although there are slight year-on-year fluctuations in the percentage of people using a solicitor to write their will, the proportion was higher on average in 2011-15 than in the four years up to 2011.

At the same time, the percentage of people using a will-writer declined from 17.9 per cent in 2008 to 10.5 per cent in 2015, with those using banks or other organisations also falling from 8.7 per cent in 2009 to 5.9 per cent in 2015.

Will Aid’s research also pointed to a shift towards “DIY wills”, with the market share of online services doubling from 1.6 per cent in 2009 to 3.4 per cent in 2015, and homemade wills up from a low of 3.6 per cent in 2010 to 7.7 per cent in 2015.

Homemade and DIY wills tend to be more easily contested than those drawn up by a professional solicitor, the charity said.

Will Aid, which has been running since 1988, is the most successful charity will-writing scheme in the UK. The campaign has encouraged 245,000 people to write their will with a qualified solicitor and in doing so raised over £17 million in donations.

Peter de Vena Franks, director of Will Aid, said: “It is evident both from research and from the popularity of Will Aid that the public prefer to use a solicitor to write their will, wherever possible. They are aware that with a solicitor you can be assured of a valid will and if anything does go wrong there is proper insurance and redress. This may not be the case with an unregulated provider and certainly isn’t the case if you write your own will.

“The charitable nature of the money raised by Will Aid is a big draw for people and encourages many thousands to enquire every year. Through the work of the charities, our solicitors and their clients have helped improve the lives of thousands of people in the UK and around the world. The wills written during the campaign also help people here to protect their assets and ensure that these pass to their loved ones.”

He added: “We need more solicitors to sign up for the 2015 campaign to meet public demand so please consider registering today.”

Solicitors can register for the November 2015 campaign at: www.willaid.org.uk or call: 0300 0309 558 or email: enquiries@willaid.org.uk