A UK financial advice firm has launched a web-based will writing system that will be offered alongside their usual service provision. Is this the next step within the wills and probate industry? Should advice be sought from one place or does will writing and general financial services need to be kept separate?
Simple Financial Solutions’ (SFS) was established in 2009 and they have since provided a range of services regarding mortgages, pensions and life insurance.
The new automatic will writing system, SimpleWills.net has been designed by the SFS to make the will writing process more efficient and is said to only take around 10 minutes to complete.
A flat fee of £28.95 is applied to all single wills and users also have the option of discussing issues over the phone with advisers, should they require more in-depth input from the business.
A representative of SimpleWills.net says offering advice on financial planning falls naturally in conjunction with will writing. They went on to state that the executor is usually making important decisions about what to do with large sums of money and investments after they’re gone, so good financial advice is imperative for effective will writing.
Advisers are given the opportunity to discuss mortgage protection with users of the new system. Through the SFS are allegedly not paying referral fees to brokers, they are in discussion about having an introducer’s fee brought in.
The business is expecting, as a result of SimpleWills.net, that other services will benefit from the new provision, as consumers should experience the benefit of going to the same professionals for advice on a range of related wills, probate and estate planning issues.
However should will writing have a more personal approach with a dedicated professional at consumers’ sides? Is a matter of minutes enough to execute a will effectively?
