Introduction

The primary aims of the College are to secure proper public recognition of the professional status of the Will Writing practitioners and to raise and maintain the standards of knowledge, understanding and competence within the profession. The College regards these aims as mutually inclusive and recognises the diversity of entrants into the profession, the wide range of vocational needs, and the nature and degree of support that is obtained from the organisation of which one is associated. 

The College is also concerned with the consumer within the Will Writing marketplace and with the consequences that may arise from the advice given where it is based on incompetence or misinterpretation. 

The College offers a range of courses and qualifications that provide scope and flexibility for the personal development of all Will Writing practitioners irrespective of age, experience, expertise and qualification. With modules appropriate to the induction of new entrants to the profession through to that suitable for the experienced practitioner who is prepared to devote intensive personal study to gain a level of knowledge and personal expertise and hold the right to call themselves Estate Planning Practitioner. 

In order to meet its stated objectives the College offers courses to all Will writers without prejudice. Membership of the Society of Will Writers is not a precondition to enrolment nor does the College intend to impose any minimum standard of general academic achievement as a standard of entry. 

The Society does impose a fixed relationship between examination success and membership grade, and as such, achievements are taken into account when considering membership applications or re-grading of membership status.  

Learning methods are by correspondence distance learning and residential, with continued specialised courses of half and one day duration thus enabling the Will Writing practitioner to continue their personal development. 

The College has a dedicated training centre in Lincoln at the Society’s head office which offers both residential and specialised courses. The two day induction course is run monthly at Lincoln; the three day course was first introduced in the summer of 2008 by an advanced SWWEPP Foundation course. As demand for courses continues to grow further centres are planned to ensure all members have easy access to training. 

Further training and education is encouraged through the regions and with 13 active groups and more planned, obtaining CPD (Continuing Professional Development) hours has never been easier and with the added bonus of the opportunity to meet like minded people and make new friends, and to listen and discuss with eminent speakers from a whole range of bodies relevant to our profession.  

The Society has made it compulsory for all members to maintain a minimum of 16 CPD hours each year and attendance at your local group means that this should be easily achieved. In 2009 the College introduced CPD on-line so that members can obtain a maximum of 75% of their annual requirement by this method. For more information see separate leaflet on CPD and visit the College on line at www.willwriters.com/cpd 

Objectives

In the early days, the media and other ‘professions’ made much of the fact that there was little or no training or education for Will Writers and that many were ‘unqualified’. Still today in some circles that may be true, but the Society of Will Writers founded the College of Will Writing in 1994 to address this matter. 

In the absence of statutory regulation, and recently the Lord Chancellor in a White Paper stated again that he did not feel that there were sufficient problems to regulate the Will Writing profession, the Society and the College stand together to ensure that the consumer is at the heart of all we do and our role is to protect the public from unscrupulous practices. Whilst training and education alone will not stop these dealings, membership of the Society will give the Will Writer the credence and instill in the consumer the confidence that the bearer of the Society’s designatory letters is ‘safe to do business with’.  

Corporate Members 

It has been an aim of the Society and the College to standardise training with minimum standards of education throughout the membership and the profession. Member companies who employ consultants and carry out their own in-house training can request to have their training and trainers vetted by the College to become accredited courses and trainers and thereby carry the approval of the Society of Will Writers. The College can also carry out the examination if required ensuring that successful candidates will receive a College endorsed certificate as a public demonstration of their achievement and competence. 

The College offers in-house tutors for companies and groups of 5 or more for training on your premises. For more information and costs please contact the College at 01522 68 78 88 or email Natalie@willwriters.com

Certificate Course – Part One

As is the aim of the College we regularly review and update the courses available to the experienced practitioner and those coming into the profession for the first time. The Certificate Course is no exception; this course is by way of distance learning or correspondence and comes complete with notes, self test papers, manual and on-line tutor. 

It is in two sections: Section One comprises full details of the Law of Succession – everything the practitioner needs to know about the law dating back to the Wills Act 1837 and right up to date with all the changes and amendments. Why Wills are needed and how they work and how they can fail. Who can and cannot make Wills and includes the Civil partnership Act 2004 which became law on the 5 December 2005 giving same sex partners all the same rights as married couples.  

Section Two is an introduction to trusts; details all the different types of will trusts, how they work and where to use them. It looks at lifetime gifts and tax planning before death as well as using the matrimonial home as part of a tax plan or strategy for both pre and post death arrangements. Section Two also covers Business and Agricultural Property Relief (BPR & APR) ensuring maximum use is made of the nil rate band and business reliefs of up to 100%. 

The whole manual, together with the prescribed reading “Wills Administration and Taxation” by Barlow King and King which is supplied, makes up a thorough source of reference and reading material for the future.

This course is now in its 11th successful year and each year more and more students are signing up to this course as a ‘fast-track’ entry into the Society and the profession. 

Only by taking good clear instructions can you ever hope to produce a clear and unambiguous Will that reflects the client’s wishes. 

It will also give you a good grounding on trusts, especially the basic trusts in use today in most Wills, nil rate band discretionary trusts, IOU trusts and property trusts among others.

The fee for the course covers the two days, all refreshments and lunches, notes and the exam. 

This course is a quick and easy way into the profession and many students go on to take the Certificate Course Part One to develop their knowledge further.  

An examination follows the course in the form of an open book exam and can be taken at a time and place of your choosing but the College must be advised of the chosen date in advance in order the exam papers can be sent to you in good time. 

Day One 

Content:

•              Insight into the market – current trends etc

•              Intestacy – dying without a Will (most valuable marketing tool)

•              The Law of Succession – capacity and how Wills work and how they can fail

•              Legacies, how they work and how they can fail

•              The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, a look at Wills

•              Trusts, discretionary, IOP, precatory, protective, bereaved minors, young persons and Immediate Post Death Interest Trusts (IPDI’s) disabled and vulnerable persons

•              The matrimonial or family home – protection of assets against the unforeseen including mitigating care fees

•              Protection against predators – the local authority, the tax man and the kids!

•              Understanding the Instruction Form – a  chance to look at various options available to the consultant when giving advice 

Day Two

•              Day two begins with a series of role playing and scenarios designed to build on the lessons learnt the day before and to help build your confidence in taking good instructions

•              An introduction to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Lasting Powers of Attorney

•              Final Q&A session

•              Introduce the exam 

Additional Short Duration Courses 

The College currently offers several specialised one day courses and these are offered at various locations around the country depending on numbers, Lincoln as always is the base, but we also use Bristol and London as our normal locations. These courses can also be offered to members and regional groups if the numbers are enough, usually a minimum of 20 students are required to make it financially viable for the College to send a tutor. 

The courses include: 

The all new Practical Instruction Taking – who gets rover?  is an extremely popular and very well received one day course. You do need to have some experience and training to take part as it is mainly practical case work based and role playing. 

The Practical Will Drafting Course - this course always receive high praise from students who attend. The tutor Remi Aiyela qualified as a barrister and retrained as a solicitor in order to do training. Remi has two Sky channels dedicated to legal matters and a DVD on making a Will. 

The Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) Course; with the phasing out of the EPA and the replacement LPA, over 400 students went through this course from October 2007 until December. This course is essential if you want to offer LPA’s to your clients – unlike the EPA, there are no short cuts to advising and completing this important document! The LPA course is given by Craig Ward author of the Law Society publication on LPA’s and is currently drafting the first update. Craig is also an expert of working with elderly clients and delivers on behalf of the Society and the College of Will Writing:  

The Developing Your Practice and Managing Your Clients course  

Developing a practice is about sourcing clients, getting engagements and finalising agreements. As clients needs change, so too does our approach to them. We need to understand what clients are looking for and how we offer suitable options.  

This is only half the picture, the other side is effective client management and techniques for managing difficult clients. We’re often placed in situations, saying afterwards “Next time I’ll handle that differently”. This course aims to tackle these points and examines a range of topical issues when advising clients. These include; medical awareness, end of life issues, mental capacity, elder abuse and family conflicts. This course also highlights current areas where negligence actions have arisen.  

Craig Ward

Solicitor

The Society of Will Writers SWWEPP Foundation Course 

The SWWEPP Foundation Course (Society of Will Writers Estate Planning Practitioners Foundation Course) to give it its full title was launched in 2008 but only as classroom based. This course will ensure that those that complete it and pass the invigilated examination, as well as having attained satisfactory results for the course work, will be able to call themselves Estate Planning Practitioners and use the SWWEPP designatory letters after their name.  

We are now planning the course to be on-line by the end of the summer of 2010 with individually appointed tutors. The students will be required to complete several papers from a choice as well as having to complete set course work. 

Contact Brian W McMillan at info@willwriters.com for more information.

 Other planned courses are:

·        Business Wills; incorporating Business and Agricultural Property Relief strategies

·        Further Tax and Trust courses incorporating Lifetime Settlements (lifetime planning)

·        Foreign Estates, best advice for clients who have property abroad

·        Working with charities, how to get the best out of them and how to avoid traps

·        Further work on Lasting Power of Attorney’s

·        Working with the SWW Trust Company how to approach the need for a professional executor and trustee; designed to boost long term earning potential 

For more information contact the College of Will Writing or The Society of Will Writers on 01522 687888 or email Natalie@willwriters.com

Our new address is:

Ground Floor Chambers, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln LN6 3QN