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Privacy Policy

How we handle your personal information.

Last updated: 22/7/2026

Privacy Policy

At Brooks Wills, we understand that later-life planning, wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, trusts and Court of Protection matters often involve personal and sensitive information. We treat that information with care, confidentiality and respect.

This Privacy Notice explains what personal information we collect, why we use it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you have.

1. Who we are

For the purposes of UK data protection law, Brooks Wills Ltd is the data controller for personal information collected through this website and in connection with the services we provide, unless we tell you otherwise.

You can contact us about this Privacy Notice or how we use your personal information using the details below:

Brooks Wills Ltd
Postal address: Brooks Wills Ltd, Bayside Business Centre, 1 Sovereign Business Park, 48 Willis Way, Poole, BH15 3TB
Email: privacy@brookswills.co.uk
Telephone: 07572 918 545

Matthew Brooks, Director, is responsible for dealing with privacy and data protection queries.

We are members of the Institute of Professional Willwriters and the Society of Will Writers.

2. What this Privacy Notice covers

This Privacy Notice applies to personal information we collect about:

  • visitors to our website;
  • people who contact us by telephone, email, contact form, letter, social media or in person;
  • prospective clients;
  • clients;
  • people named in wills, trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney or other documents;
  • attorneys, deputies, executors, trustees, guardians, beneficiaries and family members;
  • professional contacts and referral partners;
  • suppliers and service providers.

This notice applies whether you are based in Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch, elsewhere in Dorset, or further afield.

3. What personal information we collect

The personal information we collect depends on your relationship with us and the service you ask us to provide.

Website and enquiry information

When you contact us or use our website, we may collect:

  • your name;
  • email address;
  • telephone number;
  • postal address, where provided;
  • the contents of your message or enquiry;
  • your preferred method of contact;
  • information about how you found us;
  • technical information about your use of our website, where cookies or analytics tools are used.

Client and matter information

When we provide services, we may collect information needed to understand your circumstances and prepare appropriate documents or support you with your matter.

This may include:

  • your full name, address, telephone number and email address;
  • date of birth;
  • marital or civil partnership status;
  • family details;
  • details of children, dependants or other family members;
  • property and asset information;
  • financial information;
  • information about business interests;
  • information about existing wills, trusts or estate planning arrangements;
  • information about executors, trustees, guardians, attorneys, deputies or beneficiaries;
  • information about your wishes and instructions;
  • copies of correspondence and signed documents;
  • identification information where required.

Sensitive personal information

Some of the work we do may involve more sensitive information. This may include:

  • health information;
  • information about mental capacity;
  • information about care arrangements;
  • information about vulnerability or support needs;
  • medical or capacity assessment information;
  • information relevant to Lasting Powers of Attorney, deputyship applications, statutory will applications, advance decisions or Court of Protection matters.

We only collect sensitive information where it is relevant to the service you have asked us to provide, where you have provided it to us, or where we have another lawful reason to use it.

Information about other people

Sometimes you may give us information about another person, such as a family member, attorney, deputy, executor, trustee, beneficiary, guardian, witness, medical professional or other adviser.

Where you provide information about someone else, you should only do so where you have a proper reason to share it with us. Where appropriate, you should let that person know that you have provided their information to Brooks Wills and direct them to this Privacy Notice.

 

4. How we collect personal information

We may collect personal information:

  • directly from you;
  • through our website contact form;
  • by telephone, email, letter, social media or in person;
  • during meetings, consultations and follow-up work;
  • from family members or representatives;
  • from attorneys, deputies, executors, trustees or beneficiaries;
  • from professional advisers, such as accountants, financial advisers, solicitors or medical professionals;
  • from public bodies, courts, registries or official organisations where relevant;
  • from publicly available sources, where appropriate.

5. Why we use your personal information

We use personal information so that we can provide our services, manage enquiries and run our business properly.

We may use your information to:

  • respond to your enquiry;
  • arrange a consultation or appointment;
  • understand your circumstances and instructions;
  • provide wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, trusts and estate-planning services;
  • assist with deputyship applications, statutory will applications, Court of Protection matters, letters of administration support and related services;
  • prepare, check and store documents;
  • communicate with you and others involved in your matter;
  • verify identity where required;
  • keep accurate records;
  • manage billing, payments and accounting;
  • deal with questions, complaints or disputes;
  • meet legal, regulatory, insurance, professional or tax obligations;
  • maintain the security of our website and systems;
  • improve our services and website;
  • send updates or marketing communications where permitted by law.

6. Our lawful basis for using your information

UK data protection law requires us to identify a lawful basis for using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases.

Contract

We may use your personal information where it is necessary to take steps before entering into a contract with you, or to provide services under a contract with you.

For example, this may apply when you ask us to prepare a will, Lasting Power of Attorney, trust document or related estate-planning work.

Legitimate interests

We may use your personal information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.

This may include:

  • responding to enquiries;
  • keeping client and business records;
  • managing relationships with clients and professional contacts;
  • protecting our business from legal claims;
  • improving our services;
  • maintaining website and system security;
  • communicating with existing clients about relevant services.

Legal obligation

We may use your personal information where we need to comply with a legal obligation.

This may include:

  • keeping accounting and tax records;
  • complying with court orders or official requests;
  • meeting regulatory or professional obligations;
  • assisting with fraud prevention or anti-money laundering checks where applicable.

Consent

We may rely on your consent in some circumstances, such as:

  • where you have opted in to receive certain marketing communications;
  • where non-essential cookies require consent;
  • where we ask for your explicit consent to use certain sensitive information.

Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of anything we did before consent was withdrawn.

Special category information

Where we use sensitive personal information, such as health or mental capacity information, we will only do so where we have a lawful basis and a relevant condition under UK data protection law.

This may include circumstances where:

  • you have given explicit consent;
  • the information is needed in connection with legal claims or legal rights;
  • there is a substantial public interest condition that applies;
  • the information is necessary to protect someone’s vital interests, where relevant.

The exact basis may depend on the nature of the matter.

7. Marketing communications

We may contact you with information about our services where you have asked us to do so, where you have given consent, or where the law allows us to contact you as an existing client or enquirer.

You can ask us to stop sending marketing communications at any time by contacting us using the details in this notice.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing unless you have given clear consent.

8. Who we share personal information with

We only share personal information where it is necessary, appropriate and lawful.

Depending on the matter, we may share information with:

  • people you have authorised us to deal with;
  • attorneys, deputies, executors, trustees, guardians or beneficiaries;
  • family members or representatives where this is relevant and appropriate;
  • witnesses;
  • certificate providers;
  • medical practitioners or mental capacity assessors;
  • accountants, financial advisers, solicitors, tax advisers or other professional advisers;
  • the Office of the Public Guardian;
  • the Court of Protection;
  • HM Courts and Tribunals Service;
  • HM Land Registry;
  • HM Revenue & Customs, where relevant;
  • the Official Solicitor, where relevant;
  • the Institute of Professional Willwriters or Society of Will Writers where required for membership, compliance, complaints or professional standards purposes;
  • insurers;
  • IT, website, email, cloud storage, backup and software providers;
  • secure document storage providers, where used;
  • payment processors and accounting providers;
  • regulators, public authorities, courts or law enforcement agencies where legally required.

Where we use third-party service providers, we take reasonable steps to make sure they handle personal information securely and only in line with our instructions.

9. Professional confidentiality

We understand that estate planning often involves private family, financial and personal matters.

We treat client information as confidential. We will not disclose information about your affairs to third parties unless:

  • you have authorised us to do so;
  • it is necessary to provide the service you have asked for;
  • it is required by law;
  • it is required by a court, regulator or public authority;
  • it is necessary to protect our legal position;
  • there is another lawful reason to do so.

 

10. Cookies and website information

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files placed on your device when you visit a website. Similar technologies may include tracking pixels, scripts, tags, local storage and other tools that collect or access information from your device.

We use these technologies to help our website work properly, understand how visitors use the site, improve our services, and measure the effectiveness of our marketing.

Essential cookies

Some cookies are needed for the website to work properly. These may be used for security, page loading, contact forms, cookie preferences or other basic website functions.

Essential cookies do not usually require consent, but we still explain them clearly.

Analytics cookies

We may use analytics tools to understand how visitors use our website.

These tools may tell us, for example:

  • which pages are visited;
  • how long people spend on the site;
  • which devices and browsers are used;
  • how visitors found the website;
  • how visitors move around the website.

This helps us improve the website and understand which information is most useful to visitors.

Analytics tools may include services such as Google Analytics or similar platforms.

Marketing and advertising cookies

We may use marketing and advertising tools to help us measure and improve our advertising.

These tools may help us understand whether someone visited our website after seeing or clicking on an advert. They may also help us show more relevant advertising to people who have previously visited our website.

Marketing tools may include services such as Meta Pixel, Google advertising tools or similar platforms.

Consent for non-essential cookies

Analytics, marketing and advertising cookies are not essential for the website to work.

Where consent is required by law, we will only use non-essential cookies and similar technologies after you have given consent.

You can accept or reject non-essential cookies through the cookie banner or cookie settings tool on our website. You can also change your browser settings to block or delete cookies.

If you reject non-essential cookies, the website should still work, but we may have less information about how people use the site and how our advertising performs.

Third-party providers

Some cookies and tracking technologies are provided by third-party companies. These providers may process information collected through their technologies in line with their own privacy and cookie policies.

Examples may include analytics providers, advertising platforms, social media platforms, video platforms, map providers or website performance tools.

We recommend reviewing the privacy information of those third-party providers if you would like to understand how they use data collected through their services.

11. How long we keep personal information

We only keep personal information for as long as reasonably necessary.

How long we keep information depends on the type of information, the service provided, legal requirements, professional obligations, insurance requirements and whether the information may be needed in future.

Some estate-planning records may need to be kept for an extended period because wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, trusts and related documents may be needed many years after they are prepared.

We may keep information for purposes including:

  • providing our services;
  • answering future questions;
  • dealing with complaints or disputes;
  • keeping accounting and tax records;
  • meeting legal, regulatory, professional or insurance obligations;
  • protecting our legitimate business interests.

When information is no longer needed, we will delete, destroy or anonymise it securely.

 

12. How we protect personal information

We take appropriate steps to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction.

These steps may include:

  • access controls;
  • password protection;
  • secure storage;
  • secure backup arrangements;
  • careful handling of paper files;
  • confidentiality procedures;
  • staff awareness;
  • use of trusted service providers;
  • secure disposal of paper and electronic records.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information we hold.

13. International transfers

We aim to keep personal information within the UK or European Economic Area where possible.

Some service providers, such as email, cloud, website or software providers, may process information outside the UK or EEA.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take reasonable steps to make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as adequacy regulations, approved contractual terms or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

14. Your rights

You have rights under UK data protection law.

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

  • ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
  • ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
  • ask us to delete your personal information;
  • ask us to restrict how we use your information;
  • object to our use of your information;
  • ask for your information to be transferred to another organisation, where applicable;
  • withdraw consent where we rely on consent;
  • object to direct marketing at any time;
  • complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

These rights are not absolute and may not apply in every situation. For example, we may need to keep certain information to comply with legal obligations, deal with disputes or protect our legitimate interests.

15. How to exercise your rights

To exercise your data protection rights, please contact us using the details below:

Email: privacy@brookswills.co.uk
Telephone: 07572 918 545
Post: Brooks Wills Ltd, Bayside Business Centre, 1 Sovereign Business Park, 48 Willis Way, Poole, BH15 3TB

We may need to ask for proof of identity before responding to a request.

We will normally respond within one month. If a request is complex, or if you have made several requests, we may need more time. If that happens, we will let you know.

16. Complaints

Please contact us first if you have any concerns about how we use your personal information. We will do our best to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the UK regulator for data protection.

You can contact the ICO at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Website: www.ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113

17. Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites, including professional bodies, social media platforms or third-party resources.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites. You should read their privacy notices before providing personal information to them.

18. Changes to this Privacy Notice

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time.

Any changes will be posted on this page. The latest version will always show the date it was last updated.

19. Contact us

For any questions about this Privacy Notice or how we use personal information, please contact:

Brooks Wills / Brooks Legal Ltd
Email: privacy@brookswills.co.uk
Telephone: 07572 918 545
Post: Brooks Wills Ltd, Bayside Business Centre, 1 Sovereign Business Park, 48 Willis Way, Poole, BH15 3TB