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Around 100 firms of accountants are expected to become alternative business structures, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said today as it unveiled its draft application to become a regulator of legal work.

Will-writing and estate administration should become reserved legal activities, the Legal Services Board has recommended. The long-awaited conclusions of its statutory investigation also highlighted the need to improve standards among regulated providers like solicitors.

Probate and estate administration services should become reserved legal activities, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has recommended. It follows the panel’s call last year for will-writing to be regulated as well, which sparked a formal LSB investigation into the issue.

The number of solicitor applications for a grant of probate has fallen for the fourth year running, down 30% since 2006, although the drop slowed last year, indicating perhaps that greater competition in the probate market is making itself felt.