Free Will Writing - confidential?

anotherday1974

I went to a local solicitor to get my Will written for free via the option of gifting an amount to the charity (Cancer Research UK). The first meeting went to plan and I went a week later because my mum needed a Will written also. At this meeting the solicitor said there was an issue with the charity paying their fee. They said they would still write the Will, but they might give us a different form to sign so they would get paid. She said it shouldn't be required however since they would get back to the charity to explain the process had already started, but signing a different form through a different scheme might be required. She said something about the customers not gifting enough money to the charity (I am gifting well above the potential fee by the way). I asked how the charity would know how much was being gifted and she said the charity ask for the gifted amounts. 

I left a little upset and confused, because I was expecting to get my Will signed off and this never happened. Also, I didn't like the possibility of being required to sign something through a different scheme so they got paid. She said something being added to my Will. Finally, I didn't like personal information being passed on to a third party. What I put in my Will should remain confidential between me and the solicitor I thought. 

Should I be concerned? 

Thanks. 

bobster2

Terms and conditions of the CRUK scheme are here.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/free-will-service-terms

It says for the free service...

Your use of our Free Will Service is governed by the following Terms and Conditions. 

• You must be aged 18 or over to use the Service. 
• There is no obligation on users of the Service to leave a gift to Cancer Research UK.
• You must consent allow to your solicitor providing Cancer Research UK with your full name, address, date of birth and whether or not you have included a gift to Cancer Research UK in your will. Your solicitor may also share whether your Will is simple or complex and the features that define this e.g. inclusion of a trust or multiple beneficiaries. This will be used purely for product development purposes and no personal information will be shared regarding this. to share information on any charitable gift you intend to leave to Cancer Research UK, with Cancer Research UK.
• Users of the service are limited to 3 free Will writing consultations under this scheme. This includes new Wills and changes to existing Wills.
• Cancer Research UK reserves the right to withdraw the Free Will Service.
• We understand that you may want your gift to go towards research into a certain type of cancer or to provide support in your local area. We will endeavour to meet this wish as far as is reasonably possible.
• We will get in touch to thank you if you’ve been kind enough to leave a gift in your Will to Cancer Research UK when using our Free Will Service.
  

I think there's a formatting error - but sharing the nature of the gift seems to be part of the T&Cs

anotherday1974

So the solicitor can pass on whether I have left a gift to them and Cancer Research can withdraw the free service. Does this mean the amount gifted or just whether a gift is included? Cancer Research said the user is not obligated to gift anything, but they can withdraw the free service. Surely the withdrawal of the free service isn't based on the amount gifted amount or something? The solicitor said they would write the Will, but I might have to sign a form through a different scheme. I really don't understand! 

Marcon

anotherday1974 said:

So the solicitor can pass on whether I have left a gift to them

It's in the T&C above: You must consent allow to your solicitor providing Cancer Research UK with your full name, address, date of birth and whether or not you have included a gift to Cancer Research UK in your will. 

and Cancer Research can withdraw the free service. Entirely separate clause

Does this mean the amount gifted or just whether a gift is included? As above: and whether or not you have included a gift to Cancer Research UK in your will

Cancer Research said the user is not obligated to gift anything, but they can withdraw the free service. Surely the withdrawal of the free service isn't based on the amount gifted amount or something? Correct; it isn't.

The solicitor said they would write the Will, but I might have to sign a form through a different scheme. I really don't understand! 

If you don't understand what your solicitor has said about signing a different form, ask them to explain. 

Malthusian

• You must consent allow to your solicitor providing Cancer Research UK with your full name, address, date of birth and whether or not you have included a gift to Cancer Research UK in your will. Your solicitor may also share whether your Will is simple or complex and the features that define this e.g. inclusion of a trust or multiple beneficiaries. This will be used purely for product development purposes and no personal information will be shared regarding this. to share information on any charitable gift you intend to leave to Cancer Research UK, with Cancer Research UK.

As people naturally assume that anything said between a solicitor and a client is confidential (whether paying or prospective), that really should be stated upfront, not buried in the T&Cs.

It's perfectly reasonable for CRUK to be given that information as the quid pro quo for a freebie Will, but the punter should know it is being given.

"No personal information will be shared regarding this" doesn't make any sense. All the information listed in that paragraph is personal information. 

Of course, if the OP is (rightly) miffed about not being told upfront, the remedy is to get a full refund of their nothing, then find another solicitor...

anotherday1974 said:

Does this mean the amount gifted or just whether a gift is included?

It's not very clear and it doesn't help that whoever drafted those T&Cs can't write. (See "You must consent allow to", the contradiction over personal data and the broken sentence beginning with a lowercase letter at the end of the paragraph above.) Which is always encouraging given that lawyers have one job and that job is to write documents that are written properly and unambiguous in meaning.

Particularly when you are writing a document that could have far-reaching implications for every penny you own.

However, that sentence fragment "to share information on any charitable gift you intend to leave to Cancer Research UK, with Cancer Research UK", which presumably is supposed to follow on from "You must consent...", would suggest they can tell CRUK the amount you left.