Terms of Business / Retainer
The following standard terms of business apply to all instructions accepted by the Company. All work carried out in the provision of Will Writing Services is subject to these terms except where changes are expressly agreed in writing. These terms of business form the basis of the contract between the Company and the Client.
- Definitions:
1.1 The ‘Company’, shall mean [Talking Wills & Trusts]
1.2 The ‘Client’ shall mean anyone instructing the Company for the provision of Will Writing Services
1.3 The ‘Society’ shall mean The Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners
1.4 “Will Writing Services” shall mean the provision of Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Living Wills, notices of severance, probate advice and other services of a legal nature provided by a Member to his clients. It shall also mean inheritance tax advice and other tax planning advice in connection with the preparation of Wills
1.5 “Documents” shall mean Wills, Powers of Attorney or other legal document produced as part of the Will Writing Services
- Procedures
2.1 On the initial appointment your detailed instructions will be taken and appropriate advice given on matters relating to Will Writing Services. Any queries or questions will be answered and a full explanation given on the contents and terminology used in the drafting of your Documents.
- The Company undertakes to:
3.1 Comply with your instructions with reasonable skill, care and expedition appropriate to your needs.
3.2 Provide you with the best advice on matters relating to the Will Writing Services. In some cases, this may mean advice to draw up other documents, or take other action, which may incur further fees. In such cases full details of such charges will be given to you in advance and you are under no obligation to proceed with any ancillary services offered. However, in some circumstances you may be asked to sign a declaration stating that you are acting against the advice given.
3.3 Comply with the client`s instructions using all due skill, care and expedition appropriate to the need of the client.
3.4 Maintain the strictest confidentiality and not to pass on your details to any other organisation without your express written permission unless legally required to do so and shall comply with all legislation in force relating to data protection.
3.5 Offer a chargeable attestation service that supervises the signing and witnessing of your Documents at your home. The Company will not take responsibility for ensuring the validity of your Documents where the attestation service has not been taken up and the execution supervised by an agent of the Company. The signing of your Documents must be carried out according to the law of England and Wales in order for your Documents to be valid. All Documents will be supplied to you with full written instructions of how these should be completed.
3.6 Refund any money paid in respect of the preparation of your Will(s) should you change your mind within 14 days from the date of taking your instructions*. After the expiration of this period the Company reserves the right to charge you for the advice given and for any work already carried out on your behalf and in accordance with your signed instructions. An itemised bill will be produced for any charge falling due under this term. (see section c, Your rights to cancel)
3.7 Where the Company offers a Will storage service, the Company does not accept any liability or obligation to advise you of any changes in legislation or taxation which may affect you either directly or indirectly and may necessitate a review of your Documents. Any Will should be reviewed every three years and on the occasion of any material change in your circumstances, such as divorce, marriage, the birth of children or the inheritance of a large sum of money etc.
3.8 Where the company cannot legally or practically follow the instructions given by the client, the company must explain any differences between the client’s instructions or expectations and the documents to be provided.
- Your Obligations are:
4.1 To disclose all relevant facts and answers to all the questions asked to allow the Company to provide accurate advice and to produce an effective legal Document. The Company shall not accept liability in respect of information which was not disclosed, and therefore not documented by the person taking your instructions, and which comes to light at a later date as being of relevance and which may affect the validity or content of your Documents or advice given.
4.2 To pay the fee due for the provision of Will Writing Services in full and in accordance with the terms of our invoice.
4.3 If you are having the attestation service, you should arrange for the witnesses to be present at the time of the execution of your Will.
- Client Care
5.1 The Company is committed to providing you with a high quality service. An essential part of that service is that we will communicate effectively with you so that you are kept informed of progress.
5.2 The Company maintains a full complaints procedure to which any complaint should first of all be addressed. If you have a complaint, please contact Talking Wills & Trusts with full details of your complaint. You may request a copy of our Complaints Procedure for further information.
5.3 If the matter is unable to be resolved to your satisfaction you may refer it, in writing, to the Complaints Department, The Society of Will Writers. Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN
5.4 The Company complies with the Society’s Code of Practice of which a copy is available upon request.
5.5 A customer satisfaction survey is available from your consultant upon request. The survey is also available online at www.willwriters.com/satisfactionsurvey.html.
- Roles and Responsibilities
Consultant – This is what I will do:
I am a consultant of Talking Wills & Trusts I will make recommendations and give advice with regards to your Will, Trust and Probate requirements.
I aim to treat customers fairly and adhere to those principles.
I will keep all of your information confidential (in line with the Data Protection Act 1998).
I will provide you with the Talking Wills & Trusts brochure.
Consultant – This is what I will NOT do:
I will not charge you an additional fee, and I will not receive remuneration from you. I am remunerated by Talking Wills & Trusts directly.
I will not discuss any products and services other than those provided by Talking Wills & Trusts Ltd.
TALKING WILLS & TRUSTS – This is what Talking Wills & Trusts does:
They are a member of the Society of Will Writers and adhere to their code of practice.
They vet all Consultants to ensure they are suitable.
They provide the products.
They produce the Brochure.
They deliver initial and on-going product training to the Talking Wills & Trusts Consultants.
They will keep you updated in relation to the progress of your application.
They will charge you a fee
They will provide an after-sales service.
CLIENT – This is how to complain:
Should you need to complain with regard to any aspect of the service you receive, please contact:
Complaints Department
Talking Wills & Trusts
Unit 7 Olympic Park,
Olympic Way, Warrington
WA2 0YL
