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14 February 2008 / Paul Sharpe
Issue: 7308 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Regulatory , Wills & Probate
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The ticking time bomb

Paul Sharpe bemoans the lack of regulation in willwriting

To regulate, or not to regulate, that is the question—or at least it should be. Willwriting is a huge responsibility, the level of accuracy and clarity of a will making the difference between a deceased person’s last wishes being enacted, or their loved ones being caught up in years of expensive legal wrangling.

Unfortunately, however, in a world where even the sale of a £10.99 travel insurance policy has to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), a will, potentially dictating what happens to six figure sums of money, can be drawn up by anyone. If a consumer approaches the milkman, or the student who flunked all their exams and needs some fast cash, they will find someone able to draw up a will for them without any fear of the law hitting them hard. This is the sorry state of affairs existing in willwriting. Fundamentally, those professionals who wish to distance themselves from the incompetent, fraudulent and fly-by-night operators only have
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

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Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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