Regulation

Is will writing and estate planning regulated?

At present the will writing and estate planning sector is not currently regulated. However, not all companies are equal. At Town & Country Law we have always, and will continue to, act in a self-regulated way. Town & Country Law Ltd is a corporate member of the Institute of Paralegals. Our staff and each of our consultants are members of the Institute of Paralegals and follow their code of practice, meaning all will writing and estate planning cases prepared by us throughout the UK are developed in line with robust and consistent standards.. The Institute of Paralegals (IoP) is an international professional membership body that connects individuals with the shared purpose of providing professional legal services.  The IoP’s code of practice sets out the framework in which we interact with clients. All of the work that we do is covered by professional indemnity insurance that covers each client up to the value of £2.5 million.  By putting these arrangements in place and adopting voluntary regulation,we enhance service delivery, ensure continuous improvement and ensure that our clients are treated fairly.

The advantages of instructing Town & Country Law are: 

• We are members of the professional body – the Institute of Paralegals
• We adhere to the IoP Code of Practice, which includes Terms of Business, a 14 day cooling off period, and in the unlikely event it is required, an independent complaints procedure
• We have been accredited by City & Guilds to deliver legal training courses
• All our legal team are fully trained and are members of the Institute of Paralegals
• All our Consultants are fully trained in taking your instructions
• All members of the legal team and our Consultants are required to keep their knowledge up to date through continuing professional development
• The company and our Consultants carry £2.5 million of Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Our rating on Trustpilot is excellent with a score of 4.8 out of 5

Reserved legal activity

Some legal work must be undertaken by an authorised person in accordance with the Legal Services Act 2007 and authorised persons must be authorised by an approved regulator who will ensure that the regulatory obligations are met. Such work is referred to as “reserved legal activity” and entitles clients to specific protections.

During our work for you, we may identify that some services you ask for fall into the definition of reserved legal activity. For example, these services will include lifetime trusts, land registry work, preparing probate papers, submissions to the probate registry and litigation.

When this happens, we will recommend the services of a firm of solicitors we work closely with, Tyto Law Solicitors. Their lawyers often work within our offices and support the services we deliver to you which enhances the services you receive. The arrangements we have made also means that the work can be carried out to a high standard of quality at a cost-effective fee.

So long as you agree, we will pass delivery of these services to this firm of solicitors and their Terms of Business will apply.

Tyto Law Solicitors is authorised by, and all of the work they do is regulated by, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (‘SRA’). This means that they must comply at all times with the Codes of Conduct (‘the Codes’) giving you the protection afforded by those Codes including the SRA Compensation Fund.

A copy of the Solicitors Regulation Authority guidance can be viewed or downloaded at:   https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/

Tyto Law Solicitors has compulsory professional indemnity insurance in accordance with statutory requirements. Their professional indemnity insurer is Endurance Worldwide Ltd with an imposed limit of indemnity of £3,000,000 and UK territorial limits.

All our clients can deal with us with confidence and peace of mind.