I read (online) the Gazette article about the benefits of Will Aid (and the comments posted on that article).

Friends of mine had their wills prepared by a small firm of solicitors under the Will Aid scheme. I offered to check the wills for them before they signed them. Their wills were by far the worst wills prepared by a solicitor that I have ever seen. The only thing right was the spelling of the names and addresses.

My friends had not been properly advised and the wills contained so many errors that I lost count: negligent drafting, ambiguous wording, an array of provisions that more or less duplicated some of the STEP provisions that were also incorporated, redundant clauses, serious risk of intestacy, incorrect numbering, unclear layout...

I am now using the drafts as a training exercise for trainees in our private client practice group.

While all solicitors are supposed to have appropriate training in the area of law in which they practice, I am becoming convinced that anyone making a will should seek a solicitor who has STEP (or similar) qualification to ensure, as far as that is possible, that the solicitor really does know what he or she is talking about.

Paul Davidoff, B P Collins, Gerrards Cross, Bucks