What Happens if I Disagree with My Estate Planning Solicitor?

Note: The following article is part of our Complimentary Articles Series, designed to provide additional insights and detailed information on specific topics within estate planning.

Alongside this article, we suggest exploring our pillar articles for a comprehensive understanding of general legal issues related to estate planning.

• What Is a Lasting Power of Attorney?
• How Long Does a Lasting Power of Attorney Last?
• At What Age Should I Consider a Lasting Power of Attorney?
• What is the Difference Between the Court of Protection and a Lasting Power of Attorney?

INTRODUCTION

Estate planning is never a simple exercise of writing a Will, filing it away, and forgetting about it. It's a strategic, lifelong exercise that constantly reflects your changing circumstances, relationships, and motivations.

At the centre of this is your relationship with your solicitor, who you trust will familiarise themselves with your background and evolving circumstances and make recommendations based on that.

Having disagreements with your solicitor is something you naturally wish to avoid. However, they arise more often than we might hope for various reasons and can vary in severity and impact, ranging from a minor dispute to a significant breach of trust.

Knowing how to address these disagreements is essential, and this article outlines some ways to handle these potential conflicts.

HANDLING MINOR DISAGREEMENTS

Most of these issues stem from a misunderstanding or lack of clarity and can be resolved through clear communication and open dialogue.

Providing these situations arise infrequently, it's probably better to continue investing in your relationship with your solicitor and be open to having frank and candid discussions when the occasional disagreement arises.

ADDRESSING MORE SERIOUS CONCERNS

More serious issues usually involve persistent disagreements with your solicitor or a severe breach of trust. Both of these situations can cause irreparable harm to the relationship.

• Ongoing Disagreements: If you're having frequent disagreements with your solicitor, this could impede the entire estate planning process. Sometimes, this may be down to different personal styles, disputes over fees, or other factors. If you're experiencing frequent disputes and it's interfering with the way you wish to carry out your estate planning activities, then it may be time to move on and find an alternative professional advisor. If you're reaching this conclusion, we always advise you to make every effort to improve the relationship with your existing solicitor since they're already familiar with your history. But if you're finding this difficult, you have the right to move on. After all, you're the client.

• Breakdown in Trust: A breakdown in trust can happen due to various factors such as professional or financial misconduct, conflicting interests, unethical behaviour, or lack of fiduciary care. If any of these circumstances arise, you should seek to terminate the relationship immediately and seek an alternative professional advisor whose values and behaviour align with yours.

QUICK ACTION

In some cases, if you've appointed a professional body to make decisions about your assets, such as being a signatory, you should take immediate steps to safeguard those assets and take every measure to remove the party immediately. Ensuring your financial security when these circumstances arise is critical.

If you feel it is necessary, you can also report the misconduct to the appropriate authority or licensing body, such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the regulatory body responsible for overseeing solicitors and law firms in England and Wales.

For issues relating to the mismanagement of finances, you might also want to contact the Legal Ombudsman, which deals with these types of complaints.

If you're not sure about how to proceed, we recommend you seek advice from another legal professional who can provide guidance on the reporting process and help assess the impact on your estate plan. Squiggle is also happy to put you in contact with one of our legal professionals. 

Need to know more?

Book a callback, and we'd be happy to arrange a no-cost, no-obligation discussion with you to lay out the options available.

Alternatively, call us on 01233 659 796.

Or reach out to us here.