New legal career option could ease graduate job competition

A career in wills and probate work could soon be an option for frustrated graduates seeking a job. From next year, qualified individuals will be able to offer will and probate services under the Legal Services Act 2007. In association with Edexcel, the newly-formed Fellowship of Professional Willwriters and Probate Professionals (FPWPP) has launched a BTEC providing a qualification route and has applied to become the regulator for probate activities.

Graduates of qualifying law degrees and the legal practice course will be exempted from stages of the qualification, making the course a tempting option for law graduates in the face of record levels of competition for traineeships.

The qualification is being piloted by Tom Mursell, founder of NotGoingToUni.co.uk, who will be writing a monthly blog on his experiences. Tom, 20, aims to become the youngest qualified willwriter in the country. Training is provided by FPWPP Training Specialists Ltd.

The willwriting profession is currently unregulated allowing anyone establish a willwriting business without any qualifications, leaving consumers unprotected. The FPWPP, along with the Legal Services Board, which regulates legal services in England and Wales, are lobbying the government to include willwriting within the Legal Services Act 2007 as a regulated activity. Probate work is a regulated profession meaning that only solicitors and public notaries can administer estates. The new qualification will open up the probate profession, improving customer choice and access to legal services.