It may be a testament to these modern times and our one-stop shopping culture that it is now possible to find probate services at the same place you would normally shop for a jar of pickles.
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The real question is how these these supermarket probate solicitors stack up to the traditional method of seeking out a qualified estate planning expert.
The short answer is that if you value living wills to be completed with the highest level of quality, then the modern grocers may not be quite ready to compete with professional probate services that exist in the country.
A new change in legislation called the Legal Services Act is meant to give consumers more options when it comes to their power of attorney, but early adoption of the new laws has drawn controversy from both professional solicitors as well as customers that are quickly finding out that the quick need for staffing is leading towards a lesser quality of work.
While it is true that a decent amount of economic growth could come from the new laws and the resulting work teams that are needed to staff the expanded operations of legal companies, it could be at the cost of living wills that have plenty of loopholes and may be contested in courts for years after a person’s death. As the main goal of estate planning is to make sure that there is little trouble in passing on personal wealth and assets, this problem is simply unacceptable.
The idea behind this new practice is not necessarily a bad decision, but the problem will lie in the execution of the idea and whether the new breed of legal workers will understand what it means to be able to respond to a customer’s needs.
The new legislation will give lawyers and solicitors the ability to switch between different practices and specialties much easier. In other words, a property lawyer may be able to assist with estate planning according to the new laws. In a situation where being knowledgeable about a specific area of law is extremely valuable, such as probate services, this seems to go against all logic.
With the details of legal estate planning being quite convoluted, it would stand to reason that a person making their final living will and testament would like to be sure that their desires are adequately taken care of.
When the new regulation, also known as the “Tesco Law,” arrived in 2009, it was met with complaints from a group of over 100 law firms that banded together to educate the public about the benefits of using a local representative for probate solicitor and other legal needs. The main complaint was the change of a time honoured tradition of quality legal advice into a disposable commodity without regards to the difference in quality that these two types of legal service providers will be able to offer on a consistent basis.
With a local probate solicitor like Richard Nelson in Nottingham that has been in the business for many years, a client has the lawyer’s experience as his calling card, with plenty of neighbours that can personally attest to his qualifications and legal ability.
Simply put, the reason to continue using local probate solicitors is their commitment to quality and their ability to work with a customer to develop a personal estate planning solution.
In contrast, a supermarket legal services provider will not be able to devote the time that is needed to attend to personal needs due to the in and out nature of the client relationship. The new focus is now on profits and productivity rather than creating a meaningful service relationship that builds from quality service and a personal connection between the lawyer and client.
