No products in the cart.

LSB gives approval for the ACCA to start authorising probate activities

The Legal Services Board (LSB), in accordance with its statutory powers, is today granting the application of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to introduce regulatory arrangements for probate activities.

Legal Services Board Chief Executive, Neil Buckley said

“The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a long-standing approved regulator for probate activities but until now has chosen not to exercise these powers.

Today’s decision introduces the regulatory arrangements which put in place the arrangements to authorise individuals to carry on probate activities.

The ACCA has been recognised as an approved regulator for many years and this technical measure simply provides it the regulatory framework to start regulating and authorising probate activities.

We welcome the ACCA starting to use its authorised status and see this as a positive contribution to the range of services and service providers in the legal services market.”

Notes:

  1. The Legal Services Board’s (LSB) decision document for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants probate application (ACCA) can be found here.
  2. The LSB is required by Part 3 of Schedule 4of the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) to review and grant or refuse applications by approved regulators to make alterations to their regulatory arrangements.
  3. This application by the ACCA is to alter their regulatory arrangements to enable them to authorise individuals to carry out probate activities.
  4. The ACCA is a long-standing approved regulator for probate activities but has until now chosen not to exercise those powers. It was added to the list of approved regulators within Part 1 of Schedule 4of the Act, by the Legal Services Act 2007 (Approved Regulators) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/3233). This order came into force on 30 December 2009 and confirmed that the ACCA was to be recognised as an approved regulator for the reserved legal activity of probate.
  5. The LSB may only refuse an application to alter regulatory arrangements (or introduce new ones) if it is satisfied that one or more of the grounds for refusal in paragraph 25 of Schedule 4, including the ground for refusal set out in paragraph 25(3)(b). In this instance no grounds for refusal have arisen.
  6. The Actcreated the LSB as a new regulator with responsibility for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The new regulatory regime became active on 1 January 2010.
  7. The LSB oversees ten approved regulators, which in turn regulate individual legal practitioners. The approved regulators, designated under Part 1of Schedule 4 of the 2007 Act, are the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Master of the Faculties, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the Chartered Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, the Association of Costs Lawyers, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland is an approved regulator for probate activities only but does not currently authorise anyone to offer this service.
  8. As at 1 April 2017, the legal profession in England and Wales comprised 148,690 solicitors, 15,281 barristers, 6,809 chartered legal executives and 5,958 other individuals operating in other areas of the legal profession such as conveyancing. The UK legal sector turnover was £31 billion per annum (2016) which is up 19% in cash terms since 2012. For more information see here.