Will-writers and legal executives could be given the right to apply for grants of probate by next March, under powers being sought by the Institute of Legal Executives.

However, the Law Society has warned that the move could give ‘false comfort’ to consumers.

ILEX has made an application to the Legal Services Board for the right to authorise individuals to conduct reserved probate work.

The rule change being sought would mean that ILEX could authorise its members, many of whom already conduct probate work, to apply for a grant of probate, which is currently restricted to solicitors, licensed conveyancers, and some accountants in limited circumstances.

However, the application also seeks to allow ILEX to apply for probate rights to non-ILEX members, such as will-writers, who pass its qualifying criteria.

Ian Watson, chief executive of ILEX’s regulatory arm, ILEX Professional Standards (IPS), said applicants will need to have passed an exam at honours degree level in probate and succession, and show knowledge of equity and trusts. If they want to exercise the new probate rights in their own practice rather than at a law firm, they will also need to pass accounts and practice management qualifications.

Watson said the new powers would not offer a soft route for will-writers to obtain probate rights, and would not lead to any drop in standards.

He said: 'The qualifications that we require [applicants] to go through are at least as demanding as solicitors.'

Watson said his members wanted ILEX to obtain the right to give legal executives the power to apply for grants of probate before alternative business structures come into being in October 2011.

He said the LSB is expected to make a decision on whether to approve its application within six months, and it could take up to a further three months for the lord chancellor to give his endorsement, potentially leading to the rule change coming into force next March. Watson added that ILEX has already had discussions with the LSB in advance of making the application, and the LSB has sought clarification on one issue.

An ILEX paper on the new powers being sought said that ‘the work undertaken by most experienced legal executives is indistinguishable from that undertaken by a solicitor’.

Law Society president Linda Lee expressed concern about the proposals. She said: ‘Protecting the public interest is of paramount importance when considering any regulatory change. We believe that ILEX members should only be granted the rights to carry out the proposed activities if they were able to demonstrate that they meet the same high standards as solicitors.

‘IPS proposes to accept applications to carry out probate activities from those who have no formal training in law, provided they complete a form which shows evidence of knowledge of the law and practice relating to probate business.

‘We do not believe that the IPS could assess a practitioner’s competence and knowledge solely from a form, and consider that such a system would be open to abuse. We also have considerable concerns about the transitional arrangements which would allow firms to be regulated even where they did not meet the IPS's requirements.

‘To regulate a business that does not meet the requirements would give clients false comfort about the quality of that business.’

ILEX has also applied to extend the limited advocacy rights already enjoyed by its members employed in law firms, to those who want to practise independently.

In a further application, it is also seeking the right to grant rights of audience and rights to conduct litigation to associate prosecutor members of ILEX, employed by the Crown Prosecution Service to prosecute certain cases.