From the 29th July, 2022, the pre-paid funeral planning sector will become subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). These organisations will need to re-organise their processes to comply with new regulations. They will also no longer be able to make commission payments to intermediaries and will therefore have to review how they receive and distribute potential clients to third parties.
According to IRN Research, the value of the Wills, Trust and Probate industry passed the £2bn mark for the first time in 2021. Leading many organisations to consider expanding their service portfolio to include Wills and other related documents like LPAs. Especially if their line of work aligns closely with estate planning.
The funeral industry does have the opportunity to increase its service portfolio by offering Wills. After all, they’re speaking with the right people at an opportune time and with the right investment and planning, offering Wills should help to create a valuable new revenue stream.
The estate planning market is growing and therefore, so is the opportunity. With the older generation expected to pass over roughly £23 trillion to their younger family members and the World Health Organisation forecasting over 1.17 billion deaths over the next 40 years. There will be an enormous number of people looking for support with their Wills in the coming years.
Offering Wills as a new service
Professionals in the funeral industry help clients plan and relieve stress during an emotional time. Having a Will in place is part of this pre-death planning process and is just as important for the families involved.
Arken.legal provides software that supports and streamlines the creation of Wills. From a hands-free, self-service online solution to the ability to deliver more complex Wills, Arken.legal provides affordable technology that’s simple to use and even simpler to deploy.
There are two ways in which Arken.legal can help organisations in the funeral industry build this new revenue stream. Firstly, via an Online Wills solution – a hands free approach to Will drafting. Secondly, via its Will writing software, which empowers organisations to write the Wills in-house using software that guides them as they draft.
Both options are simple, inexpensive ways to expand your portfolio with documents costing as little as £5 each to produce.