The profession’s share of the probate market has dipped sharply, with solicitors and companies providing probate services last year receiving just 44% of all probate grants issued, according to figures published today.

The 2011 data from the Probate Service, a division of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), reveals that grants issued to solicitors slumped by 30% between 2006 and 2010 and that 56% of last year’s grants went to private individuals.

At the same time, the data shows that the number of wills coming to probate in 2011 that had failed to appoint an executor or had appointed an executor who was unable or unwilling to administer the estate had risen by 5% on 2010 to 15,553.

Kevin Cole, head of research at people tracing and probate company Title Research, said that the number of flawed wills was in direct proportion to the number of DIY wills and that it was ‘vitally important’ to seek professional advice from a qualified practitioner to avoid problems. He said: ‘These figures highlight the need for the regulation of will-writing. Thousands of people every year end up with poorly drafted wills which do not even name an executor or do not make sufficient provision in their will for a substitute executor if their executor dies or is unwilling to act.’

Cole added that the Legal Services Board's plans to regulate will-writing and estate administration will not affect the vast majority of people who prepare their own wills rather than using qualified practitioners. He said: ‘Even with regulation, the risks of DIY probate will remain, such as undervaluing the estate, under paying tax or missing out entitled heirs. The opportunity for lawyers now lies with making inroads into DIY probates.’

The data, published in a Title Research report released on 8 May, also revealed problems with the London probate registry, which dealt with just 2% of all solicitor applications for grants of probate in 2011 - compared with 19% in Winchester. HMCTS has now announced that it is no longer accepting solicitor applications in London while it works to improve the service.