£400k case against Barclays for badly drafted will
Judith Thompson
A woman who's father took advantage of Barclays Bank's £90 will writing service has found herself in a dispute with the bank following her father's death.
She alleges that the bank failed to advise her late father to serve a notice of severance, to ensure she received half of a property which was valued at £800k.
She first complained to the Financial Ombudsman, who ruled against the bank. However, as the claim fell outside the Ombudsman's remit they had no powers to take any further action and now court proceedings for her £400k half-share must be commenced.
This case highlights the risks of using low-cost will writing services, which are performed by unregulated and potentially unqualified practitioners. A will is far from a simple document and the law concerning wills and probate is complex and continually changing.
At Samuels, we have been preparing wills for clients for over 25 years and the head of our Private Client department, solicitor Abbie Kingdon, holds the highest will writing and estate management qualifications and is a specialist will dispute solicitor.
We always charge a great value fixed fee for our will writing services, which will be agreed with you in advance.
If you have a Barclays will, or a will prepared by any other organisation (including solicitors), we will check it for free.
Contact us today for a free no obligation discussion about how we can help.