The current pandemic is affecting us all, not only on a personal level, but it is taking a toll on all types of business. The impact on the legal sector, over the coming months and possibly even years, is likely to be huge affecting a range of different practice areas.
Firms who rely heavily on Conveyancing will have seen their business literally fall away overnight owing to the current restrictions and Immigration cases will also have been seriously affected. Whilst the situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve rapidly, strategies to minimise the impact it may have on your business will need to be continually reviewed and firms need to be considering diversifying or changing the way they work to offset the impact felt by the reduction in certain types of instruction, in order to survive.
The demand for Wills in the UK has never been greater
This is a stressful and worrying time for everyone and As the UK begins to adjust to the “new normal” that we face amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many families are approaching their affairs with an increased sense of reflection and pragmatism. In the Wills and Probate sector, this has manifested itself in a significant increase in clients looking to both update or create their Will and establish Lasting Powers of Attorney.
It is vital that even during these difficult times, people are protected which means there is a very important reason to speak to clients (both new and existing) about their Will and estate planning arrangements. Introducing Private Client work into your firm will act as a means of adding value to your practice, increasing your client retention and your income.
What’s holding you back?
Perhaps you may think that you don’t have the necessary expertise, or that it would take a long time to train staff, or that it would be expensive to introduce an entire new system.
With our expertise, we can help you to provide estate planning within your firm, with our support and guidance at every step. We also have a range of training courses for all levels of experience. Our intelligent legal document drafting software, Countrywide Legacy, provides you with everything you need and more, all at the touch of a button.
So, how can we help?
Countrywide Membership
As a Countrywide Member, you will receive exclusive access to our dedicated Estate Planning Helpline who are able to assist you with any of your estate planning recommendations, whatever situation your clients are facing.
We are experts in our field and were even chosen as Best Practice Representatives by the Parliamentary Review, further highlighting our recognition as leading figures in the industry.
Whether you have simple Death Planning or advanced Estate Planning questions, our team of TEPs, Solicitors, Conveyancers, legal experts and affiliates of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) can assist you with all of your queries.
Benefit from our expertise with our Estate Planning services, including:
Will Review service – CTTC Ltd can review your client’s existing Will, as well as other Estate Planning documentation, and confirm how they can be improved and what the issues may be with the documentation at present.
Death Planning Solutions – for simpler death planning cases, CTTC Ltd can provide a recommendation within 24 hours of receiving your client’s financial details.
Slides and presentations available 24/7 – with a vast amount of webinars covering a range of subjects from the RNRB to Contested Probate and Asset Protection Trusts.
Access to a dedicated helpline – that can assist with all types of queries relating to IHT, CGT, death planning and lifetime gifting.
Trading Standards Compliance – we can provide you with a Declaration of Trust ensuring compliance with the rules set down by Trading Standards when taking ‘up front’ payments from client.
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Comprehensive Training
At CTTC Ltd, we place an exceptionally high value on the training we provide. We have a range of Training Courses, which we are currently running remotely, for all levels of experience. All of our training is certificated and will count towards any Continuous Professional Development.
Our training is not limited to only courses. Each month Countrywide run a free webinar where our experts discuss a topical subject relevant to the industry, where you are able to ask any questions you may have.
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Countrywide Legacy software
Countrywide Legacy provides bespoke legal document drafting software packages to thousands of registered users throughout the UK. Written and built by our team of experts, Countrywide Legacy not only drafts an extensive range of Private Client documents (over 78 legal documents), but also risk manages the process of running a business more cost effectively whilst enhancing the service you provide to clients.
Our expertise means we are always ahead of legislation changes, developing innovative strategies to protect both your firm, and your clients, and ensuring our software guides you seamlessly through the entire process.
In light of the current climate, we have also built in additional features within the Countrywide Legacy software that you are able to utilise now, ahead of upcoming legislation changes. Most notably, we have adapted our ‘Risk Reduction Trilogy‘ to be appropriate for when face-to-face instruction taking isn’t possible.
Countrywide Legacy seamlessly guides the user through, asking all the necessary questions during the instruction taking process suited to when you are not in a face-to-face meeting. This ensures the client’s surrounding circumstances and reasons behind the decision-making are fully documented and includes a robust set of questions to be answered on testamentary capacity.
This means that you can retain an electronic comprehensive record of all crucial facts throughout every stage of the process automatically, saving time and reducing risk at every turn, whilst still automatically producing a Will Clarity Statement, Client Disclaimer and Execution Statement during the relevant stages of the process.
How else can Countrywide Legacy help your practice?
Using our software to prepare documentation can dramatically cut down on non-chargeable time for your fee earners by reducing unnecessary administration. The entire client file is stored electronically in our encrypted software, meaning no printing, scanning, or storage costs. This allows the fee earner to focus on more productive tasks and increase the number of chargeable units they are able to bill.
Countrywide Legacy also enhances training, ensuring staff must ask all of the questions within the software, thus reducing the risk of errors before the file can be submitted for drafting, speeding up the process significantly therefore saving time and improving productivity for you and your team.
For more information, please visit: www.countrywidelegacy.co.uk
If you would like to learn more about how CTTC Ltd can help, please contact:
newentrants@countrywidegroup.co.uk
01926 514 390 Ext 9170
This article was submitted to be published by Countrywide Legacy as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Wills and Probate. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Wills and Probate.
