Mike (.
Hawksford Jersey Private Client Wills/Probate : poor service
I write here to advise readers about the quality of service they might expect in relation to the Wills & Probate service in Jersey. Probate administration is ongoing for my late relative in Jersey (where none of the family lives). Experience to date with Hawksford acting as sole Executor, leads me to offer them the following advice on improving their service; 1. improve record keeping and don't apply for probate with a superseded Will; and 2. don't make light of Hawksford's error (#1 above) when multiple beneficiaries’ inheritance differs from the superseded Will; and 3. don't facilitate vulnerable elderly clients in writing a Will that involves avoidable complexity (and billable legal hours) to administer; and 4. don't appoint yourselves (Hawksford) as sole Executors of the Will if there is a practical alternative; and 5. don't under-deliver on promised progress reports; and 6. Do make progress as legal process allows (not limited by scant resourcing), for example, the settling of debts; and 7. don't avoid or ignore specific questions, responding "a lot going on behind the scenes", unless their is a covering overview in progress reports.