Personal Will Services

Personal Will Services: bespoke will writing from Haydock, St Helens

Personal Will Services (PWS) is a will writing practice operating from Harold Road in Haydock, St Helens. The firm presents itself as a dedicated, professional will writing service focused on ensuring that clients' children, property and possessions are provided for after their death. Its stated approach rejects a single template: each will is prepared around the client's particular circumstances and needs.

The company is owned by Ferguson & Partners Limited and is registered in England. It describes itself as a certified member of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW) and states that it follows the IPW code of practice, which it says is approved by the Trading Standards Institute.

How the service works

PWS frames will writing as a matter of listening first. According to the company, its advisers spend time hearing clients' concerns, assessing their situation and then putting the appropriate legal documents in place. The firm also offers home appointments; client accounts describe advisers attending at a convenient time and explaining the necessary steps in plain terms.

On cost and timing, the company states that the amount quoted is the amount paid, that wills start from £100 and that they can be drawn up within four days. It presents this as a way of making the process neither difficult nor expensive.

Credentials and professional standards

PWS is explicit about the regulatory gap in its sector, noting that will writing is an unregulated industry in which unqualified operators can work. Against that background it highlights several concrete commitments:

• Certified membership of the Institute of Professional Willwriters (IPW).
• Adherence to the IPW code of practice, described as approved by the Trading Standards Institute.
• Insurance cover of at least £2 million for each will written, in line with IPW requirements.
• Completion of an IPW examination in estate planning by all staff.
• Annual updating of knowledge and skills as a condition for retaining the practising certificate.

The founder

Mark Ferguson is founder and managing director and is described as a will writing specialist with 16 years' experience in the industry. Before entering the field he worked as a prison officer; the company says his concern about the lack of regulation in will writing, and a wish to raise standards for the public, prompted him to set up the business. He is also listed as chairman of the St Helens, Widnes and Warrington branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, a role the firm links to advocating for small firms and the self-employed across the North West of England.

Client feedback

The site reproduces comments from clients in Leigh and Wigan. One describes an adviser arriving on time, professionally presented and asking detailed questions to ensure the wills were assembled correctly and legally. Another recounts advice given to an elderly family member at his home, with explanations that were readily understood. A third, from a client who had known Ferguson for several years, describes him as honest, trustworthy and reliable and the advice as excellent at a reasonable cost. These are individual testimonials rather than an aggregate rating.

Practical details

Appointments and enquiries are handled by telephone or through an enquiry form on the website. The firm's correspondence address, telephone, fax and email are listed in the contact panel of this directory entry.