Many banks offer what appear to be good value services for as little as £100, while some provide it free as part of VIP accounts.

However, they then cash in by recommending that they be named as a professional executor for when the customer dies.

The net result is that families are being charged up to £9,000 for services involved in the winding up of an estate which many people could do themselves.

The law does not require people to appoint a professional executor, although 43% of people choose to have the solicitor or other professional who wrote their will to act in this role.

Yesterday, the Office of Fair Trading said families could save a total of £40m a year by shopping around for cheaper professional executors, such as solicitors, or by winding up loved ones’ estates themselves.

A group of leading banks – Barclays, RBS/NatWest, Lloyds and HSBC – have agreed to review the way they sell their will-writing services.

The OFT said it had approached the four banks during 2010 as part of a wider effort to improve the will-writing market for customers and their beneficiaries. It said this had been prompted by ‘concerns that some consumers were appointing professional executors without fully understanding the likely costs and the alternative options’.

The four banks have agreed that in future, customers making a will should not be led to believe appointing a professional executor is essential or the norm.

They should also not encourage people to appoint a professional executor unless it is clearly in their best interests.

The OFT said: ‘While the costs for preparing a will can be relatively modest, the costs for a professional executor to administer an estate can be high and vary considerably.

‘For an average estate, consumers can pay between £3,000 and £9,000. Failing to shop around could be costing UK consumers around £40m a year.’

The OFT’s David Stallibrass said: ‘The wrong decision when appointing executors could mean a potentially expensive professional service is chosen, when a family member may be capable of handling the task either alone or with professional support.

‘We are pleased each of the banks has agreed to review its selling practices.’

Read more related articles here on this blog:

Why Do I Need a Last Will & Testament?

Why should I write a will?

Read the Daily Mail article:

Writing a Will is even more important for unmarried couples, as cohabiting partners do not have any automatic right to their companion’s estate without one.

On top of that, it is essential to make a Will for the future of your children, if you have any. To ensure that they are cared for by somebody you know and trust, a legal guardian should be identified by the Will. If you die intestate, the government may elect someone you would not have wanted to take up the role as guardian.

There is a long list of things you cannot do if you don’t write a Last Will and Testament:

Pass your estate to an unmarried partner
Decide how much money is left to each family member
Specify who will become the guardian(s) of your children
Leave something to a charity
Leave a memento, e.g. jewellery to a friend
Reduce any potential Inheritance Tax liability your estate may have
Preserve your estate if you go into residential care
For the sake of your peace of mind it is worth taking the time to make a Will. With our carefully selected service provider it’s no trouble at all and will only take a few minutes of your time. Professional wills start from £149.99 for a single will and £179.99 for a mirror will.

Call now on 08444 123 172 or alternatively complete the short form below and we will contact you:

Invoice Discounting

A variation of Invoice Factoring is Invoice Discounting which means you retain the credit control function and management of your sales ledger. A confidential facility can be offered so that the arrangement remains confidential between your business and the finance provider and you are responsible for the maintenance of the sales ledger.

KEY BENEFITS of Invoice Discounting and Invoice Factoring

• Allows you to unlock funds tied up in your outstanding sales ledger. You notify us of each invoice and we’ll advance you up to 90% within 24 hours
• Complete credit control service where we chase your customers, send your statements and collect payment.
• We don’t just collect your outstanding invoices faster (saving you money), We do it in a truly professional manner that protects the relationships you have with your customers.
• Alleviate administrative pressure, leaving you free to concentrate on running your business. One of the best credit control and collection services in the industry.
• Make your financial forecasts confident in the knowledge they’re not dependent on uncertain payment dates.
• On-line administration of your account.

For more information complete our short form, and our invoice finance team will be in-touch.

Research from consumer champion Which? Legal Service found that 56% of people don’t have a will, because they haven’t got round to it, haven’t thought about it or don’t think they need one.

Surprisingly, more than a third of people aged over 65 without a will felt that they didn’t need one – more than any other age group.

Writing a Will is essential part of life if you want to make sure that your possessions and money end up in the hands of the people and organisations you intended.

You should beware of the pitfall of assuming that everything will automatically go where you want it to even without making a Will – this is not always the case. Dying without making a Last Will and Testament is called intestacy, and people who pass away without having written a Will are intestate. Under these conditions, intestacy rules determine the recipients of the estate, and these people may not have been whom you would have chosen.

For married couples with a sizable estate, the spouse of the deceased only stands to inherit the first £250,000 of the estate and personal items unless specified in a Will. While this sounds like a lot, you may want to take into account the combined value of all your property and possessions – you might find your estate is worth more than you expected.

Writing a Will is even more important for unmarried couples, as cohabiting partners do not have any automatic right to their companion’s estate without one.

On top of that, it is essential to make a Will for the future of your children, if you have any. To ensure that they are cared for by somebody you know and trust, a legal guardian should be identified by the Will.  If you die intestate, the government may elect someone you would not have wanted to take up the role as guardian.

There is a long list of things you cannot do if you don’t write a Last Will and Testament:

• Pass your estate to an unmarried partner
• Decide how much money is left to each family member
• Specify who will become the guardian(s) of your children
• Leave something to a charity
• Leave a memento, e.g. jewellery to a friend
• Reduce any potential Inheritance Tax liability your estate may have
• Preserve your estate if you go into residential care

For the sake of your peace of mind it is worth taking the time to make a Will. With our service providers it’s no trouble at all and will only take a few minutes of your time. Professional wills start from £149.99 for a single will and £179.99 for a mirror will.

Call now on 08444 123 172 or alternatively complete the form below and we will contact you:

Forshaw Associates Limited is our Invoice Discounting Broking service (sometimes referred to as Trade Finance, Invoice Discounting, Invoice Factoring or Confidential Invoice Discounting (CID)).

At Forshaw Associates Limited we aim to help your business improve it’s cash flow. By providing an immediate injection of cash against the value of your outstanding invoices which are usually your company’s greatest asset.

We have an impressive panel of Invoice Factoring or Discounting financiers acrossBlackburn, Burnley, Lancashire, the North West and Nationally at our fingertips each with their own specific specialities.

Read more about Invoice Finance …….