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30 October 2015 / James Ward
Issue: 7674 / Categories: Features , Wills & Probate
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Winning the battle of wills

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How can we raise awareness of the need for solidly drafted wills, asks James Ward

Barely a week goes by without a major will or inheritance dispute being splashed across the pages of the UK’s foremost (tabloid) newspapers. Despite major campaigns to raise awareness of the need for a solidly drafted will—such as Will Aid or the recent “Choice Not Chance” campaign from the Ministry of Justice—not much ground appears to have been gained in the public consciousness so far. Recent research from Will Aid found that less than half (47%) of people in the UK have actually written a will, and 2014 research from YouGov unearthed that over a third of UK adults (34%) have never even heard of the Intestacy Rules, and only one in 10 know what they are or how they work.

Legal landscape

The current legal landscape has not necessarily helped the cause. First, will-writing is not a regulated area of law, which did not deem it a reserved legal activity in the Legal Services Act 2007. This

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