A top industry award has gone to will writing firm Heritage Wills - for the second year running.

The firm, which has its regional office in St Ives and was a finalist in last year’s Hunts Post Business Awards, fought off competition from four other firms to win the Will Writing Organisation of the Year title at the National Paralegal Awards, despite having to face the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Heritage Wills’ managing director Stuart Burrell said “It’s real honour to have received national recognition for a second year running.

“This year’s National Paralegal Awards event was held virtually for obvious reasons but this in no way diminished the sense of pride and excitement that we felt when our name was announced.”

It is not the first time that the firm, which is based in Norwich, has been in the limelight - in the last two years they were awarded the Regional Will Writing Firm of the Year at the British Wills and Probate Awards and were highly recommended in the Community Involvement category. They were also finalists in last year’s Hunts Post Business Awards in the Medium Business of the Year category.

Mr Burrell said: “Obviously, this year has been challenging for everyone and I’m delighted the Heritage Wills team have responded to the changes which the pandemic has forced on our business.

“It also gave us an opportunity to reflect on the work we’re doing and what Heritage means to us. We aim to make the process of creating a will and future planning as clear and simple so are updating our branding to reflect this.”

He added: “Historically, our business model was built on home visits to clients, but it quickly became clear that this was not an option under the social distancing guidelines.

“However, we have embraced the technology and through offering online and telephone appointments, we are able to continue giving our clients the personal advice and guidance they expect from us.”

The firm, established in 2002, also offers a full probate service, a client care package which includes secure document storage and can help with trust enquiries, lasting powers of attorney and property ownership changes.