Wills - storage at solicitors

[bluetoothbrush]

If you get a will drawn up, how long will a solicitor keep it in storage (to be retrieved by your executors after your death)?

Thank you

Forever, or at least until you die. It's classed as a deed, so it can't be destroyed.

Getting Obsessive is correct. If the solicitor goes out of business or moves premises they must write to you at your last known address to tell you where your will is being sent to.

I'm a willwriter and am frequently asked by companies who make a living out of finding wills whether I'm holding a certain deceased's will.

I always advise my clients to send their wills to the central storage facility run by the Probate Office as they're not going to go bust.

We have stored our wills which were drawn up by Mumblechum1 with the Probate Office very easy to do and I think they charged us about £20. As Mumblechum said they are not going to go out of business.

When my SIL had their wills drawn up last year by the local solicitors who we previously used they were told they would only hold the will free for a certain number of years.

These solicitors have taken over another 3 local firms in recent years and have also changed their names. A friend had a lot of worry and trouble with them trying to get the original wills of her parents who died within months of each other. Her father was meticulous with all his paper work and she found letters and confirmation that one of the firms who had been taken over were holding their wills for safekeeping. Apparently all the paperwork from these firms was put into storage somewhere and hadn't been sorted out at all. It took them over 3 weeks to locate the wills and needless to say my friend didn't appoint them to execute the estate.

[waves at mowbray girl].

That's exactly why I recommend the Probate Office storage service. It's efficient, safe and cheaper than the commercial outfits, none of which I recommend.