How to become a Will Writer

Becoming a Will Writer or estate planning practitioner can be a great and rewarding career. It provides many people with an additional income and flexible working hours or it can be done full time enabling you to create a successful business.

In this short article, we have explained the process of how to become a Will Writer and listed some of the considerations which you may wish to make as part of your journey or process.

Firstly, Will Writing is unregulated and anyone can start a business offering these services to clients without the need for any formal qualifications. This obviously isn’t advisable and you’ll want to take a structured approach to entering the profession.

Here is a brief summary of the topics we will cover:

• Costs associated with estate planning
• Training
• Insurance
• Running the business
• Getting clients
• Earning potential

Before we explore the topics mentioned above you may wish to understand the extent of the solutions you may be introducing to your clients and how you can earn from them:

Wills

Lasting Powers of Attorney

Trusts

Secure document storage

Let’s start with the costs associated with becoming a Will Writer.

Costs of becoming a Will Writer:

Insurance

Your insurance (like car insurance) can be split into monthly payments. It will be called Professional Indemnity Insurance and will be in place to cover the advice that you’re providing and the documents you’re creating for clients. The cost will be based on your level of turnover. In your first year it will be your expected level of turnover. In any case, I would expect to pay a minimum of £300 in your first year. Your second year will typically be based on the turnover of your first year.

Membership

If you’re new to the profession then having a network of people to support you, to turn to for training and advice is crucial. Within the estate planning profession there are two such bodies providing voluntary self-regulation; The Society of Will Writers and The Institute of Professional Will Writers. Both provide technical advice and support, and will provide access to services including training and insurance. We provide software for both bodies. Each body has different membership options and can provide information on this.

Software

This should be seen as an investment rather than a cost. WillSuite, as a software provider provides a business in a box solution. For the low cost of £69 per user per month (+VAT) you get access to a document drafting solution as well as a full case management solution. The case management system is also sometimes referred to as a CRM. It’s a place to store all client or prospect information. We provide a free trial of the system as well as training and support to make sure that you’re making the most of it. We do have lots of videos on our YouTube channel sharing how it works, what it can do to support your business and how to set it up.

Training

As we have already mentioned, the two self-regulatory bodies (under membership) both provide training to help you kickstart your business and to get the requisite knowledge to begin a career in the industry. 

Typically this can be done in either 3 or 4 days (face to face) or via distance learning. The Society of Will Writers has a training college called the College of Will Writing and the Institute of Professional Will Writers college is called The Will Writing Academy. They provide a great route into the profession.

Leads

When it comes to growing your business there are lots of ways but typically buying data and then ‘calling’ or ‘cold-calling’ this data. Typical lead costs are £35-45 per lead.You would of course need to do your research on your data provider.

Another Solution or route to becoming a Will Writer

Another route to becoming a Will Writer is to train and join a local firm. They may have their own training material or may have a relationship with one of the two bodies mentioned above. Some may even provide free training. Joining and becoming a consultant/adviser of an existing firm is a great way to get guidance and support as well as being provided with leads. Note that this route typically means that when you see a client, you will only retain about 25% of the fee earned.

How to get clients as a Will Writer?

By now, we hope you’re getting a clear understanding of what route you would like to take to become a Will Writer. Here at WillSuite we provide some handy tools to help you onboard clients. Tools like the ability to import data, to do SMS or email marketing, and the ability to create letters within the system. All this on top of invoicing and appointment booking to make the journey easier.

Did you know that we also host events which will help you develop as a practitioner. Anything from sessions to understand new features, to better utilise the system, to expand your knowledge or even to pick up new marketing tips and ideas. All of these sessions can be booked from the events page on our website.

WillSuite Training Events

On the WillSuite events page you have got the ability to register for a session we have run before and by registering your interest, we know what people would like to see again.

If there is a topic you would like to learn more about, you could also ask for a 1-2-1 and our team could support. This includes anything from ‘implementing pipelines’ to understanding how you could offer an online Will service.

How to write/draft Wills?

When it comes to writing Wills you have a number of options open to you:

• You could use template Wills
• You could outsource drafting
• You could use software

Templates are becoming an outdated way to draft Wills, not least because you are responsible for ensuring that your precedents are up to date but also because each document typically requires a lot of customisation. Software is fast overtaking this as the simplest way to produce complex documents for clients.

The alternative is to have another firm draft them for you. They will typically charge per document so you only pay when you need them but the costs can be as much as 40% of your client fees.

What can you earn as a Will Writer?

Will Writing isn’t just rewarding emotionally. It can provide a good living. According to our statistics the average client transaction value (based on over £500,000 in invoices through WillSuite) is £461.00. This is likely to include a number of services such as Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

You’re free to choose to charge clients whatever you like and there will be a number of factors which dictate this including, demand for services, time spent with clients, local competition and their charges as well as your costs.

How do I get insurance?

Typically, speaking to an insurance broker or a Google search will provide you with a policy adequate for your needs. You’re also able to obtain a policy through your regulatory body if you’re a member of either the SWW or IPW.

Practical considerations when becoming a Will Writer?

Starting a business can always seem a little daunting and how you set up will be important. A good number of estate planning professionals will set up as a limited company. Speak to your accountant for more information about whether this is the right path for you.

Consider speaking to ‘local practitioners’ and perhaps discuss mentoring or support whilst your business gets going.

For more feedback on starting a Will Writing business, we have spoken to some WillSuite clients about their journey and how they got started and they kindly shared their journey and some advice for new entrants to the market.

Sara Sheppard FSWW TEP (SLS Wills and More)

https://youtu.be/z2gFitV5y4c

Selene C Jordan MIPW (Omega Wills)

https://youtu.be/9lSw3h2Kv9s

Christopher Fooks MIPW Cert II (MP) (Lacuna Wills)

https://youtu.be/RzkV3pcrB0U