I’m Emma Wrigley, and I run Kent Legacy Planning. This page sets out the terms I work on — what I’ll do, what it costs, when you pay, how to change your mind, and what happens if something goes wrong.
I’ve written it the same way I wrote the privacy policy: in plain English, because terms nobody can read protect nobody. If anything here isn’t clear, ring me and ask. That’s a much better use of both our time than you worrying about a clause.
These terms apply from the moment you ask me to start work. They should be read alongside the written quote I give you — where the quote says something different about your particular matter, the quote wins.
1. Who you’re dealing with
Kent Legacy Planning is a sole practice. That means me: there is no team, no office, and nobody else who will turn up at your door.
- Post: Kent Legacy Planning, Matrix Rd., Aylesford, Kent ME20 7YH
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 07470 587 158
Two things you’re entitled to know before you instruct anyone with your will. First, I am not a solicitor, and Kent Legacy Planning is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Will writing is not a reserved legal activity in England and Wales, which means anyone may offer it. What I bring is a law degree and more than twenty years working in the legal sector, and I price accordingly. Where your circumstances need a solicitor — or an accountant, or a financial adviser — I’ll tell you so rather than take the work.
Second, I carry professional indemnity insurance. That’s the cover that pays out if I get something wrong and you lose money as a result. Ask me for the current limit and insurer and I’ll tell you.
If I ever stop practising — retirement, illness, anything else — I will write to every client whose file or documents I hold and tell them where their papers have gone and who to contact.
2. What I do, and what I don’t
I write wills, mirror wills and codicils, and review wills that somebody else wrote. I prepare lasting powers of attorney, general powers of attorney, advance decisions and letters of wishes, and I review and revoke existing LPAs. I draft trust wills and the documents that go with them, and private and family loan agreements. And I help executors with probate and estate administration, from an initial review right through to handling the wider administration of an estate. The exact work is whatever we agree in your written quote, and nothing beyond it.
What I don’t do, in any circumstances:
- Apply for a Grant of Probate on your behalf. Preparing a probate application for someone else is a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007, and I am not authorised to carry it out or to charge a fee for it. Where a Grant is required, you as executor make the application directly to HM Courts & Tribunals Service as a personal applicant. I can give you practical guidance around the process and continue to assist with the wider administration of the estate, both before and after the Grant is issued.
And what I don’t do, unless we’ve specifically agreed otherwise in writing:
- Regulated financial or investment advice. I can explain how an asset passes under your will. I can’t advise you on what to hold.
- Specialist tax or accounting advice. Preparing an inheritance tax account as part of probate is part of the job. Tax planning is not.
- Medical advice. I can draft an advance decision recording which treatments you wish to refuse and make sure it meets the formalities the Mental Capacity Act requires. Which treatments those should be is a conversation for you and your doctor, not for me.
- Anything outside the agreed scope. If your situation turns out to need work we didn’t discuss, I’ll explain what’s involved and what it costs before doing any of it.
I don’t appoint myself as your executor unless you specifically ask me to, and I take no commission, referral fee or introduction payment from anyone in connection with your matter. Where I suggest you speak to another professional, it’s because I think you need one.
3. How the work runs
We start with a free phone call. No obligation, no charge, and no pressure. I’ll listen to your circumstances, explain your options, and give you a clear quote before you commit to anything.
Then a questionnaire. If you’d like to go ahead, I send you a questionnaire to fill in at your own pace. It covers your family, your estate and your wishes. We fill in the gaps by phone or email, in as many calls as it takes — this is the part most people expect to be an appointment, and it isn’t one. It’s designed that way deliberately: nobody has to book a day off, tidy the house, or sit through a formal meeting.
Then I draft. Once I have what I need and the fee has been paid, I prepare your documents and send them to you to read. Take your time. It is your job to read them properly and tell me if anything is wrong — names, dates, addresses, executors, attorneys, beneficiaries, gifts, who gets what. I’ll make any changes within the scope we agreed.
Then I come to you to sign. When you’re happy with the final version, I come to your home to oversee the signing and witnessing, bringing an independent witness where one is needed. That visit is included in the price for every will and LPA, anywhere in Kent and East Sussex — no travel charge, and no extra for an evening or a weekend.
If you’d rather see me before I draft anything, I’m happy to come out — some people simply prefer to talk it through face to face, and occasionally I’ll suggest it myself. There’s a separate consultation fee for that visit, and I’ll tell you the amount before anything is booked. If you go on to instruct me, I’ll tell you in writing whether that fee comes off your bill.
Probate works differently, because every estate does. I’ll set out what I’m taking on and how the fee works before I start.
On timing. Most straightforward wills are done inside a fortnight from the first phone call. How long yours takes depends on how complicated your instructions are, how quickly the questionnaire comes back, whether the draft needs changes, and — for LPAs and probate — how long the Office of the Public Guardian, the Probate Registry or HM Land Registry are taking, which is outside anyone’s control. Any timescale I give you is an honest estimate, not a guaranteed date, unless I’ve put it in writing as one.
4. What it costs, and when you pay
You get the price before you commit. I quote in writing, and the figure I quote is the figure you pay — there’s nothing added afterwards.
The quote is based on what you’ve told me. A quote for standard mirror wills assumes standard mirror wills will do the job. If your instructions turn out to need trusts, extra documents, or work we didn’t discuss, I’ll explain that, tell you what the additional fee is, and get your agreement before doing any of it. You will never receive a bill for work you didn’t approve.
Document work and reviews are paid for in advance. Wills, codicils, letters of wishes, powers of attorney of every kind, advance decisions, loan agreements, will reviews and the executor and estate review — I don’t start until the agreed fee has been paid. For a sole practitioner working at fixed prices that’s the only arrangement that makes sense, and it’s why I can quote as keenly as I do.
Probate is the exception. I don’t ask for the probate fee up front — we agree at the outset how and when it’s paid, normally out of the estate as the administration proceeds.
Estate administration is scoped in writing before I start. Every estate is different, so there isn’t a single price. There’s a fixed fee for an initial review of the will and the estate; there’s support with as much or as little of the administration as you want to hand over; and there’s the full administration, quoted as a fixed figure once I know what’s involved. Whichever we agree, I set out in writing exactly what work is covered and what it costs before any of it starts. If the estate then turns out to need work outside that — a beneficiary nobody can trace, a claim against the estate, an asset that only surfaces later — I’ll tell you what’s involved and what it adds, and get your agreement before doing any of it.
If you change your mind mid-way, tell me. Ordinary changes within the work we agreed — a different executor, a reworded gift, a change of guardian — I’ll make without charging you again. Repeated changes, or a change that means starting over with materially different documents, may mean a further fee; as ever, I’ll tell you the figure and get your agreement before I do the work.
Third-party fees are separate and are not mine. The Office of the Public Guardian charges to register each LPA. HM Courts & Tribunals Service charges for a grant of probate, and because the executor makes that application personally, that fee is paid by you direct to the Probate Registry rather than through me. HM Land Registry, valuers and others charge for their own work. I’ll show you those figures alongside my own so you can see the true total, but they’re paid to those organisations, not to me, and they change from time to time without asking either of us. OPG registration fees are normally payable when the completed LPAs are ready to be sent off.
5. Changing your mind
You have a legal right to cancel within 14 days. Because we’ll almost certainly do our business by phone, email and at your home rather than at an office, the Consumer Contracts Regulations give you 14 days from the day we agree the work to cancel it, for any reason or none. I’ll send you a cancellation form with your quote so you don’t have to hunt for one.
There’s a catch worth understanding, and it’s why I put it in plain sight rather than in small print. Most people want me to start inside those 14 days, because otherwise nothing happens for a fortnight. I can, but only if you ask me in writing to begin before the cancellation period ends and acknowledge what that means. If you don’t ask, I’ll wait until the 14 days are up before starting — that’s the default, and it costs you nothing but time.
If you do ask me to start early, two things follow:
- If you cancel part-way through, you pay a fair and proportionate amount for the work actually done up to the point you told me, not the whole fee. Anything you’ve paid over that comes back to you.
- If the work is finished inside the 14 days, the right to cancel is gone and the full fee is payable. That’s the trade-off for having your documents in hand quickly, and it’s why I ask you to acknowledge it in writing rather than bury it here.
After the 14 days, you can still stop. Tell me in writing and I’ll stop. I’m entitled to charge a reasonable, proportionate amount for the work actually done by that point — reading your questionnaire, taking and considering instructions, advice given, drafting, correspondence, research done for your matter. If that comes to less than you’ve paid, I refund the difference. If the documents were finished, most or all of the fee stays payable. Third-party fees already properly incurred can’t usually be recovered, so those stay payable too.
If a client dies before the documents are signed, tell me as soon as you’re able to. I’ll stop work, charge only for what was genuinely done, and refund the balance to the estate.
Nothing on this page affects your statutory cancellation rights.
6. Appointments
If you need to move or cancel an appointment, tell me as soon as you can. Life happens, and a rearranged visit is not a problem.
- More than 48 hours’ notice: any fee paid for that appointment is refunded in full.
- Less than 48 hours, or you’re not there when I arrive: I may charge a reasonable amount for the time held for you and the journey actually wasted. It will reflect what the cancellation genuinely cost me and no more than that.
Where the visit is part of a larger service you’ve already paid for, cancelling the appointment doesn’t mean I keep the whole fee — what you owe for the work itself is worked out under section 5, separately.
If I cancel, I’ll offer you another appointment at no extra charge. If we can’t find one that works and the service hasn’t been provided, you get that money back.
7. Signing your documents, and what happens to them afterwards
A will is only valid if it’s signed and witnessed correctly, which is where home-made wills most often fail. Where my service includes attending the signing, I’ll oversee it and make sure the formalities are met. Where you’re signing something without me there, follow the written instructions I’ve given you exactly — if you’re unsure, ring me before you sign rather than after.
The original will normally goes home with you. I keep a copy on file. If you’d like me to hold the original for safekeeping instead, ask, and I’ll confirm the arrangement in writing so there’s no doubt about where it is.
Wherever it ends up, tell your executors where to find it. A will nobody can locate is very nearly as much trouble as no will at all.
8. After your documents are signed
My job finishes when the work we agreed is done. I’m not keeping a watch on your circumstances afterwards, and I won’t be monitoring changes in the law on your behalf or reminding you to review anything — unless we’ve agreed a separate service in writing.
That’s not me being unhelpful; it’s me being straight about what you’re buying. Review your will after any big change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, buying or selling property, a significant change in what you own — and otherwise every three to five years or so. Changing a signed will means a new will or a codicil, and that’s chargeable work at the price I quote you at the time. Ring me and ask; the conversation is free.
9. What I need from you
Accurate, complete information. Everything I draft is built on what you tell me. If something material is withheld or wrong, I can’t be responsible for what follows from it — and estate planning is an area where the consequences of an omission tend to land on your family years later, when nobody can ask you what you meant.
Tell me if things change before the work is finished, or if you realise something you told me was wrong.
Check your drafts properly. You should read the draft carefully and tell me if any factual information is incorrect or if anything does not accurately reflect your instructions — names, dates, addresses, executors, attorneys, beneficiaries, gifts, who gets what. Don’t sign anything until you’re satisfied it says what you want and I’ve confirmed it’s ready.
If I’m preparing estate accounts without having run the whole administration, they can only be as good as what I’m given. Where I haven’t dealt with the estate from start to finish, I have to be able to rely on the executor giving me complete and accurate information about everything that has happened in it — every asset, every payment in and out, every distribution already made. I’ll prepare the accounts from that information and tell you what I’ve relied on, but I can’t be responsible for what was left out of it.
There’s one thing I insist on, and it matters most in exactly the situations where it’s least convenient. The instructions have to be yours. Where a family member arranges things for a parent, that’s welcome and often sensible — but I will speak to the client on their own at some point, and the wishes I record will be the ones they express to me. If I have real doubts about capacity, or I think someone is being leaned on, I’ll say so and I may decline to act or ask for a medical opinion first. Any cost of that opinion is yours, and I’ll tell you before it’s obtained. This protects you: a will that gets challenged on capacity or undue influence can cost an estate far more than it ever cost to write.
10. If something goes wrong
Tell me first. I’d far rather hear about it and fix it. I’ll acknowledge your complaint within five working days and give you a full written response within twenty. Most things are sorted out in a phone call.
Kent Legacy Planning is not a member of a will-writing trade body, so there is no independent ombudsman scheme covering my work — which is exactly the sort of thing you should be told before instructing anyone, and exactly the sort of thing that usually appears nowhere. If we can’t resolve a complaint between us, you can seek advice from Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, and you retain every right you have to take the matter to court.
On liability. Where I’m at fault, my liability to you is limited to the amount payable under my professional indemnity insurance in force at the time — tell me you’d like the current limit and I’ll give you the figure. I don’t accept liability for losses I couldn’t reasonably have foreseen, for loss caused by information you didn’t give me or gave me wrongly, or for the acts of third parties such as the OPG, HMRC or the Probate Registry.
Nothing here limits my liability for death or personal injury caused by my negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn’t permit me to limit. Nor does it affect your right to services carried out with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
11. Your information
Everything you tell me is confidential. I use it to do your work, and I share it only with the people and organisations needed to do that work, or where the law requires it. I never sell it, and I never pass your details to anyone hoping to sell you something.
I won’t discuss your matter with anyone who isn’t part of it — including family members who ring on your behalf. If you’d like someone else to be able to talk to me about your affairs, tell me and I’ll note it on the file.
The full detail — what I hold, why, who else sees it, how long I keep it and how to ask me to change or delete it — is in the privacy policy.
12. The general bits
These terms sit alongside your written quote and any other written agreement about your matter. Where I’ve agreed something specific with you in writing, that specific agreement applies.
If one part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still stands.
I may update this page. The version that applies to your matter is the one in force on the day you instructed me, and I’ll send you a copy on request.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Any dispute can be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales — and if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can bring proceedings where you live.