The Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners is excited to announce the 23rd annual running of the SWW Conference. 2019 marks a momentous year for the Society as we celebrate 25 years in business; a theme we’ll be carrying through the year, including the conference where we will showcase the very best of the best that the Society has to offer. This year’s event takes place on the 7th and 8th of October and due to high demand from an ever-growing audience the conference will be held at an all new venue, the Hilton East Midlands Airport.
We’re really looking forward to this change in venue as it has greatly improved conference facilities over previous venues allowing for more delegates and exhibitors than ever before. Plus, it’s easy to access and we’re able to keep costs the same as last year!
What to expect:
As ever we’re bringing a whole host of expert speakers and exhibitors across the two days to truly make this the standout event of the year. We’ll provide more details in due course but to give you a quick teaser of what to expect take a glance at this year’s speakers and their topics:
Day 1:
Taking up the breakfast slot we’re bringing in Seb Shakh, lead developer of Sure Will Writer – Professional Will Suite. Seb will be delivering a demonstration on the Society’s drafting software and will also be on-hand for whole event to talk all about the software and what is has to offer.
Opening and closing the event will be Brian McMillan, Director General for the Society who will delivering his address to the delegates on what the Society has been doing and will be doing. Brian will also be Master of Ceremonies to mark the Society’s 25th anniversary.
At the 2018 conference Lead Tutor for The College of Will Writing Siobhan Rattigan, delivered a very well received workshop on practical drafting and this year at the request of our delegates we’re promoting her to the first day to deliver an overview of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Fay Collinson from Kings Chambers will also be delivering a talk on the first day, although a topic has yet to be announced so stay tuned! Fay is a specialist Court of Protection and Chancery Barrister. She has a broad practice that encompasses contentious probate, trusts, property disputes and all sides of Court of Protection work.
James Greenwood-Reeves, another tutor for The College of Will Writing will be with us this year explaining How to Ruin an Otherwise Perfectly Good Trust Without Even Trying. Those familiar with James’ style of delivery and experience as a probate practitioner will no doubt be looking forward to this talk.
Rounding off the Monday afternoon is Simon Douglas. Simon is a Barrister and an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Oxford. He will be discussing Mistakes in Wills and How to Correct Them – no doubt this will be a valuable talk for all in attendance.
Monday’s talks are of course followed by the private dinner with a private bar and entertainment. This year’s dinner will be a black-tie event so be sure to break out your best dinner jackets and frocks! Also, as part of the celebrations this year the whole of the Society staff will be in attendance including the team from The National Will Archive so if there is anyone you haven’t met yet, this could be your chance. The team will be available throughout both days to assist where needed and answer any questions that you may have.
Day 2:
As ever we’re providing delegates with a second day consisting of workshops from industry professionals. This year these include Tim Farmer, Andy Riddle and Gerrard Fisher:
Those who have attended conference before will no doubt be familiar with Tim Farmer, managing director of TSF Mental Capacity Assessors. Tim’s talks at previous conferences have always been well received and this year he will be taking delegates through The Three Phases of Mental Capacity Assessments.
Another familiar face at conference is Andy Riddle, managing director of Professional Deputies. Having previously taken up the breakfast slot and exhibiting at conference we’re bringing Andy back this year to run a workshop on Deputyships – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Gerrard Fisher is the founder of Astrid Data Protection Ltd and handles GDPR implementation. Gerrard will be giving a workshop on Protecting Your Clients’ Personal Data and Practical Actions to Comply with Regulations.
Book now!
If you’d like to attend this year’s event, click here to download the full agenda and booking form. Email this to [email protected] or send it in via post to The Society of Will Writers, Chancery House, Whisby Way, Lincoln, LN6 3LQ.
We look forward to seeing you at the Hilton in October!
