HMCTS agrees interim service with Smee & Ford

HMCTS and Smee & Ford have been able to agree on a sustainable arrangement for the wills notification service to continue until new, long term arrangements can be put in place.

It was announced in January that the government was terminating its existing arrangement with Smee & Ford that notifies charities of bequests in wills. Since then, ILM has been working closely with HMCTS and other organisations to ensure a smooth transition and a workable interim arrangement.

HMCTS has published an open letter from CEO Susan Acland-Hood about the arrangements, which you can view on their website here. Smee & Ford will also be communicating details of the new arrangements directly to its customers.

We are very grateful for the large amount of work by all parties that has gone on behind the scenes to make this possible, and to HMCTS for listening to our concerns about the consequences of a break in service and acting upon them.

We will continue to work constructively with HMCTS to support their efforts to put in place long term arrangements that work well for our members and the charity sector as a whole.