Will Writing Scams: The Unregulated Will Writers Who Stole

You would not read about will scams unless your life's work mattered to you.

A will writing scam is a trick that uses a will to take money. Real UK cases show three main kinds. A will writer is named as executor or attorney and steals from the estate. A firm sends letters saying your will is invalid and charges to "fix" it. Or a storage service takes fees and keeps wills in a cupboard. Part of the risk is the law. In England and Wales, will writing is not a regulated legal activity (House of Commons Library, 10 August 2023).

That is the short answer if you searched "will writing scams". Most will writers are honest. This page shows cases where trust was broken. It shows what regulators warn about. And it gives simple checks before you sign.

A visit at the kitchen table

Picture a widow in her late seventies. A friendly man comes to her home to write her will. He is patient. He fills in the forms for her. Then he offers more help. He can store the will safely. He can be her executor, so her children will not have the stress. Later, he can manage her bank account if she gets ill.

She feels relieved. Everything is in one pair of hands.

That is exactly the problem. This widow is a composite. But the cases below are real. They all start with too much trust in one person.

Case 1: Keith Webber, Somerset

Keith Webber was a will writer from Chard in Somerset. He acted as executor and power of attorney for four elderly clients. Over about three years, he took their money (BBC, 4 February 2014).

The BBC reported how he did it. While his clients were still alive, he "persuaded or deceived" them into paying him large sums. He had them withdraw cash from their bank accounts. After they died, he took more money from their accounts.

One case stands out. The court heard that he talked one man into buying him an £11,000 Jaguar car. The same man paid for a £3,000 funeral plan for Webber's wife. Then Webber charged him a £150 agent's fee. The victims included Webber's own wife's sister and her husband.

In February 2014, a jury at Bristol Crown Court found him guilty. There were six counts of fraud and theft. He was jailed for five years (BBC, 7 February 2014).

At first, the loss was put at £280,000. In July 2014, a confiscation hearing found he had benefited by £362,977. He had six months to pay it all back. If not, he faced five more years in prison. The money was to go to the estates and their rightful beneficiaries (BBC, 8 July 2014).

Case 2: Mark Bonner, two estates

Mark Bonner ran a firm called MBT Will Writing and Legal Services. In June 2017 he was jailed for five and a half years. He was guilty of two counts of fraud. The total was just under £360,000 from two clients (The Society of Will Writers, 7 July 2017).

The Society of Will Writers described the case. He had once been a member. A woman in her sixties asked him to help with her late partner's estate. It included a house worth about £102,000. All of the sale money went into Bonner's bank account. He gave her just £40,000.

When police looked into it, they found the £40,000 had come from another client's estate. That client, a man in his seventies, had a house that sold for £204,000. He received none of it. In total he was owed £298,000.

The Society said it removed him as a member in 2012. That followed an earlier, unrelated prison sentence. Membership can end. So check that it is current, on the body's own website.

Case 3: the "your will is invalid" letters

Not every scam involves a large estate. Some take small sums from many people.

In August 2011, Walter Ventriglia, a will writer in Berkshire, was jailed for 14 months. He ran a firm called Legacy & Law. He wrote to about 130 clients under a false name. He said changes to the law would make their wills invalid. He charged each one between £30 and £60 to make the changes. There had been no change in the law (Law Society Gazette, 26 August 2011).

He also ran a storage business called UK Will Register. It claimed to keep wills in a secure facility in London. In truth, they were kept in an airing cupboard at his home.

He pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading at Reading Crown Court. He was sentenced on 19 August 2011.

Think about that cupboard. Where is your will right now? Would your family find it if you died tomorrow?

It is not only unregulated firms

Being a qualified lawyer does not make someone honest. In the United States, the FBI described the case of Albert Hessberg III. He was a partner at a major law firm near Albany, New York (FBI, 16 December 2019).

Families trusted him with their wills and estates. The FBI said he stole more than $2 million. He took it from at least 15 trusts over 12 years. When families asked for their money, he delayed. He called them greedy. He set relatives against each other.

In May 2019 he pleaded guilty to mail fraud and wire fraud. He also admitted filing a false tax return. In November 2019 he was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.

One victim's words sum up the method. Hessberg was "portraying himself as a reliable authority figure and casting us as 'greedy grandchildren'".

The executor problem

Look again at these cases. In most of them, the person who stole had control of money, not just paperwork. They were an executor, an attorney or a trustee.

An executor is the person who deals with your estate after you die. They collect your money, pay your debts and share what is left. It is a position of great trust, and often nobody checks it closely.

The risk is not only with professionals. In April 2026, the BBC reported on Peter Littler, formerly of Stretton in Cheshire. He was the executor of a man's will. He sold the man's house. But he kept the money instead of paying the man's family. He told one of them he could "do what I want as executor of the will". He admitted fraud by abuse of position. He was jailed for three years and four months (BBC, 9 April 2026).

So the question is not just "who writes my will?". It is also "who will hold the money, and who will check them?".

Why will writing is not regulated

In England and Wales, some legal jobs are "reserved". Only regulated professionals, such as solicitors, may do them. Will writing is not one of them. Anyone can offer it (House of Commons Library, 10 August 2023).

In February 2013, the Legal Services Board recommended making will writing a reserved activity. It said the risk to consumers was big enough. In May 2013, the then Lord Chancellor said no. He accepted there was harm, but wanted to try other answers first.

In December 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) studied the market. It found problems but said a "small rogue element" caused them, not the whole sector. It found that about half of unregulated providers had joined a voluntary body.

In Scotland, will writing is also unreserved, the Commons Library says.

So today you have three kinds of will writer:

Type	Who checks them	If it goes wrong
Solicitor (or other authorised lawyer)	A legal regulator	Professional rules, a complaints scheme and insurance
Member of a voluntary body	The body's own code and complaints process	Depends on the body's rules
Unregulated, no body	Only general consumer law	Courts, police, Trading Standards

What the CMA warns about

On 24 July 2023, the CMA opened an investigation. It looked at will writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate. It closed its review on 30 January 2026 without formal action. It said "some issues remain" but noted improvements (CMA case page).

Its guidance for these businesses lists practices that may break consumer law (CMA guidance). They are useful warning signs for you too:

• Pressure selling. The CMA gives an example. A will writer booked a 15-minute meeting at a customer's home. The representative stayed for 45 minutes, even after she asked to end the meeting.
• Drip pricing. You see a low price first. Later, extra fees appear, for example to "check" the will.
• Hidden extras. Executor services or storage are pushed without a clear choice. The CMA says firms should explain the options, so you can make an informed choice.
• Storage subscriptions. Some firms charge yearly fees to store a will. Terms must be fair. Leaving must not cost more than it really costs the firm.

Seven checks before you sign

1. Ask what they are. Are they a solicitor? Do they belong to a body? Two examples are the Society of Will Writers and the Institute of Professional Willwriters. Check on that body's own website.
2. Ask about insurance. Who pays if the will is wrong? Ask to see proof.
3. Get the full price in writing. Include storage, executor fees and any yearly charges.
4. Never decide on the first visit. A good firm will let you think. Take the papers away and read them.
5. Think hard before naming the firm as executor. Ask how it charges. You can name a family member instead. They can hire a solicitor later, if needed.
6. Do not give one person every key. Imagine one person writes your will and keeps it. They are also your executor and attorney. Then nobody else is watching.
7. Know where the original is. Get a copy. Tell your executor where the original is kept. Does a letter say your will is invalid? Ask an independent solicitor before you pay.

A cheaper will is not a bad will. Charity schemes and online services can work well for simple estates. See our guide to free wills in the UK. Our review of the best online will makers explains more options. The point is to know who is behind the service.

If you think you have been scammed

• Report it. Tell the police. They can tell you how to make a fraud report.
• Complain to the body. If the will writer belongs to a voluntary body, use its complaints process.
• Get the will checked. Ask an independent solicitor whether your will is valid.
• Are you a beneficiary? Does an executor refuse to pay or explain? Ask a solicitor what the court can order.

The honest lesson

A will is one of the kindest things you can leave. It saves your family guesswork, cost and conflict. If you have no will at all, the law decides for you. Our guide what happens if you die without a will explains how.

The lesson from these cases is not "don't make a will". It is "don't hand all the control to one stranger". Split the jobs. Keep a copy. Tell your family where things are.

Our free end-of-life readiness check shows which papers you have and which are missing. Our free planning papers checker shows what each paper is called in your country. If you want worksheets, the Complete Planning Library includes a "where to find everything" list, so your family knows where your will is and who wrote it. It costs $39, once, with a 30-day refund. It does not write wills or hold money.

The same breach of trust happens with powers of attorney. Read Power of Attorney Abuse: Real Cases and the Checks That Stop It. For scams that start after a death, see heir hunter and inheritance scams.