Accord Legal Services

What Accord Legal Services does

Accord Legal Services (legally Accord Limited) is a UK private limited company founded in 2012 by Sarah Williams, headquartered in St Helens, North West England. The firm specialises exclusively in estate planning and operates a national network of NALP-qualified paralegals, SRA-regulated solicitors and Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEPs) delivering will writing, probate and estate administration, lasting powers of attorney (LPA), trust planning, inheritance tax advisory, and care fee planning services across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. All advisory work is conducted by qualified consultants through home visits, telephone, video or postal channels, with every will drafted in-house rather than from templates and covered by £2,000,000 of professional indemnity insurance per case.

The company monetises through fixed-fee professional services on a pay-as-you-go basis, with optional annual will-storage subscriptions bundling up to three free alterations per year. Its go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer acquisition (free no-obligation home consultations, website booking, phone enquiries) with B2B2C partnership channels comprising 50+ NHS trusts, regional police federations, ambulance services, building societies, multi-academy trusts, universities, hospices and other charities, plus a professional adviser referral programme for estate agents, financial advisers and accountants. A freemium model underwrites free will services for NHS staff, police officers and charity legacy pledgers, capturing downstream revenue from LPA registration, probate execution and Trust Corporation appointments.

Accord differentiates on regulatory credentials (NALP, SRA, STEP, CMA compliance, Lifetime Lawyers Green Flag), bespoke 'Gold Standard Wills' that address inheritance tax, care fees and unintended beneficiaries, and its proprietary Own Trust Corporation, which allows the firm to act as professional trustee, executor and administrator of estates. The company reports having assisted more than 55,000 families and self-describes as one of the UK's largest will writing companies; no external funding rounds, M&A activity, or institutional investors are disclosed, and Sarah Williams remains active as Founder and CEO.

Name

Accord Legal Services

Legal name

Accord Limited

Website

https://accordlegalservices.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Accord Legal Services is a UK-based, founder-led estate planning firm founded in 2012, operating a national network of qualified paralegals and solicitors delivering wills, probate, LPAs and trust services to individual consumers and employer-channel partnerships including NHS trusts, police federations and charities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Estate Planning Legal Services

NAICS

Offices of Lawyers (541110), Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE), Estate Planning, Trust Structuring & Governance (FSAAADAF), Estate & Probate Administration Services (FSAEAKAD)

Keywords

• Will writing services
• Probate services
• Lasting power of attorney
• Estate planning
• Trust administration

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Helens

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Will Writing Services: One-time fee for will drafting services. Charges vary according to method of instruction and type of will required. Fixed fee basis with transparent quotes provided before work begins. No hourly billing, no hidden extras.
2. Probate and Estate Administration: Fixed fee probate and estate administration services. Company handles full estate administration including writing to asset holders, submitting tax forms, obtaining grant of representation, collecting assets, distributing estate and preparing estate accounts.
3. Lasting Power of Attorney Registration: Services include drafting and registration of LPAs with the Office of Public Guardian. Separate LPA types available: Property and Affairs, Health and Welfare, and Business LPA.
4. Charity Wills Programme: Free wills written for individuals who leave a legacy to partner charities. Generates referrals and charity partnerships. Accord also receives donations from charity partners for additional paid services.
5. Professional Executor Service: Company can act as professional executor for estates, in addition to the standard will writing service. Provides ongoing revenue through executor fee arrangements.
6. Trust Planning: Bespoke trust planning services for lifetime and post-death planning, including advice on inheritance tax and care fee planning. Trusts prepared by SRA-regulated solicitors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Accord Legal Services provides fixed-fee estate planning legal services across the UK, principally Will writing, Probate and Estate Administration, and Lasting Power of Attorney registration, delivered through a national network of qualified paralegals who conduct free home-visit consultations. The firm also operates its own Trust Corporation enabling it to act as professional trustee, executor and administrator, and offers trust planning, inheritance tax advice and care fee planning via an in-house Legal Department of SRA-regulated solicitors, TEPs and paralegals.

Product overview

Accord Legal Services operates as a national legal services provider specializing exclusively in estate planning. The core offering consists of three primary services: Wills (professional will writing with home visits), Probate (full estate administration), and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA registration and management). These are complemented by specialized modules including Inheritance Tax Planning, Home Protection, Children's Inheritance Planning, Spouse Protection, Guardianship, Funeral Planning, and Care Fee Planning. The company also offers a proprietary Trust Corporation service enabling them to act as professional trustee and executor. All services are delivered through a national network of qualified paralegals regulated by NALP, with additional expertise from TEPs (STEP qualified) and SRA-regulated solicitors, all covered by £2,000,000 professional indemnity insurance per case.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wills Professional, bespoke Will drafting service for UK individuals and families. Delivered via free home-visit consultations or remote (telephone/video/Teams/questionnaire) consultations by qualified paralegals. Wills include protective Gold Standard provisions designed to safeguard assets from care fees, inheritance tax and unintended beneficiary claims. Fixed-fee pricing with transparent quotes; free variations offered through NHS, police and charity partnership programmes.
• Probate and Estate Administration Full estate administration service for UK families after a death, covering writing to asset holders, submitting tax forms, obtaining the Grant of Representation, collecting assets, distributing the estate to beneficiaries and preparing estate accounts. Fixed-fee basis.
• Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) Drafting and registration of Lasting Powers of Attorney with the Office of Public Guardian. Three LPA types are available: Property and Affairs, Health and Welfare, and Business LPA. Enables appointed attorneys to handle financial, health or business affairs when an individual loses capacity to make decisions themselves.
• Own Trust Corporation (Professional Trustee, Executor and Administrator) Accord acts as its own Trust Corporation, able to serve as professional trustee, executor and administrator of estates and trusts, either solely or alongside family members. Provides impartial decision-making in beneficiaries' best interests and is one of few will writing firms offering this in-house.
• Estate Planning Comprehensive later-life and post-death planning service combining will writing, trust planning, inheritance tax advice, and long-term care fee support. Delivered by the in-house Legal Department of SRA-regulated solicitors, TEPs and paralegals.

Quantifiable outcome

• 55,000+ families assisted across the UK
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NHS Trusts (50+ NHS organisations)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAccord offers free Wills to employees of NHS trusts. Partner NHS trusts include Northumbria Healthcare, Norfolk and Norwich, Western Sussex Hospitals, Barts Health, Hertfordshire Community, Leeds University Teaching Hospitals, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford University Hospitals, Cambridge University Hospitals, The Royal Marsden, and over 40 additional NHS trusts and ambulance services across England.
• NHS Ambulance Services (9 regional services)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with NHS ambulance services including South East Coast, South Central, East of England, West Midlands, South Western, North East, Yorkshire, and London Ambulance Services to offer free Wills to staff.
• Police Federations and ForcescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFree Will Writing Service for all police officers and police staff. Partners include Police Federation of England & Wales, Cheshire, Essex, Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Wiltshire Police Federations, British Transport Police Federation, Civil Nuclear Police Federation, City of London Police Federation, Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police, Warwickshire Police, Gwent Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and many others covering all UK police forces.
• Police Benevolent Funds and Police CharitiescoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with police benevolent funds including West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund, Metropolitan and City Police Orphans Fund, Police Mortgages, NARPO (retired police officers), and others.
• Charity Partners (Legacy Will Programme)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerAccord writes Wills free of charge for individuals who leave a legacy to partner charities. Charity partners include Birmingham St Mary's Hospice, St Oswald's Hospice, Rowcroft Hospice, Myeloma UK, Alder Hey Children's Charity, Cash for Kids, North West Cancer Research, Dementia Forward, Adventure Therapy, Heartbeat, Remember A Charity, HAPPA, and many others.
• Chorley Building SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree Will Writing Service for all members of Chorley Building Society.
• Penrith Building SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree Will Writing Service for Penrith Building Society members.
• Wesleyan Assurance SocietyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree Will Writing Service for members of Wesleyan Assurance Society.
• Financial Advisers, Accountants and Estate AgentscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional advisers use Accord as part of their advice package to clients. Accord helps professionals provide a wide range of estate planning services to clients that they could not otherwise offer, including wills, trusts, and LPAs.
• Education Sector PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnerships with schools and multi-academy trusts including Unity Schools Partnership, Life Multi Academy Trust, Delta Academies Trust, and individual schools including West Derby School, University of Liverpool, University of Warwick, and others offering free Wills to staff.
• Healthcare and Care Provider PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnerships with care providers including Maria Mallaband Care Group, Forest Healthcare, Spire Healthcare, Nuffield Health, Age Connects North Wales Central, Age Connects Torfaen, and others.
• Cash for KidsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFree Will Writing Service for supporters of Cash for Kids Charity. Accord also makes a donation to Cash for Kids for any additional paid-for services provided to Cash for Kids supporters.
• Myeloma UKminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMyeloma UK is delighted to partner with Accord to offer supporters a standard single or mirrored Will written, or a review of their current Will, for free. Accord offers a fully advised free Will writing service conducted by expert advisors.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Irwin Mitchell: Full-service UK law firm with a large Private Wealth / Wills & Estates practice serving individual and family clients — overlapping practice areas and credentials (TEP-qualified solicitors).
• Stephensons Solicitors: UK law firm with dedicated wills, probate, trusts and estate planning teams; comparable services to Accord but delivered through traditional solicitor practice rather than paralegal-led network.
• Slater and Gordon: Large national UK law firm offering wills, probate, LPA and estate-planning services as part of a much broader legal portfolio. Comparable on practice areas and client base but as a diversified incumbent.
• Weightmans: National UK law firm providing private client services including wills, probate, trusts and LPAs — comparable practice areas but a full-service incumbent rather than specialist.
• Hugh James: UK law firm with a sizeable private client / estate planning practice offering wills, probate, trusts, and LPAs across multiple UK offices; comparable services but at broader-international law-firm scale.

Direct peers

• Co-op Legal Services (Free Wills): Operates charity free-wills programmes across multiple UK charities — directly comparable GTM motion and customer segment to Accord's charity wills service.
• National Free Wills Network: Aggregator connecting UK will writers with charity legacy schemes — directly overlapping Accord's charity-wills programme and partner-driven GTM motion.
• Co-op Legal Services: One of the UK's largest will-writing and probate providers offering fixed-fee wills, LPA, and probate services direct-to-consumer via home visits and online. Directly comparable in product mix, B2C/B2B2C distribution model, and scale.
• Farewill: Online-first UK will-writing and probate platform offering low-cost, digitally delivered wills and probate. Comparable on core offering (wills, probate) and target customer, contrasting on delivery model and pricing.

Others

• Remember A Charity: UK consortium of 200+ charities promoting legacy giving; an enabler/ecosystem participant feeding charity free-wills leads (including Accord's) to will-writing partners.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AccordWills

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Accord Legal Services