will storage

[willstorage]

Should I store my will with hmcts? would that then mean it is on register so it would be found and would be safest option? thanks

Usually stored with the solicitor who drafted it.

Is that the case now there are so many legal representatives/will writers rather than using local solicitor as in the past? What is the purpose of hmcts then?

Ours are lodged with the National Will Register www.nationalwillregister.co.uk/

HMCTS is for probate applications in this context.

Store it with a local solicitors (in my experience will-writing firms seem to close or disappear quite a lot) but make sure you let the executors and/or your family know where it is.

Alternatively create a (fireproof if poss) "death box" with the wills and other relevant documentation such as insurance policies and details of bank, investments and mortgage account numbers. Again, let people know what and where it is.

There is also the National Will Register which might be of interest although I don't think you actually send the will.

www.nationalwillregister.co.uk/

@AuntieDolly but with the register dont you just pay to go on a list which says where the will is rather than sending them the will?

No, they keep the original will and you can lodge other documents with them - deeds etc.

I have a fireproof filing cabinet from a solicitors office with all the documents but someone could remove it if they would inherit if there were no will so I want the will held somewhere.
Pls can you explain HMCTS as they made it sound like you send them a will to store and add it to the register. Have I misunderstood?

@AuntieDolly are you sure as their website says they register the will but it has to be held at the solicitors or elsewhere? they say they dont have copies of it.

A retired probate solicitor related that solicitor firms can and do close, in one example he mentioned that wills from multiple companies were taken for consolidated storage - to a barn, which was destroyed by fire…

Ours were done online and the signed versions were emailed to the online solicitor but we have kept the originals. Just trying to see what the best option is to cover all risks.

I have a friend whose wills were stored by their bank years ago and now her DH has died she has discovered they have ‘lost’ the wills so having to go through the intestate process which is taking a long time and costing her money.

we are now thinking of getting our original wills back from the solicitor storing ours.

Similar to post above, a friend has lost her husband and found that the company that took over the solicitors that they used have a record of the will being made, but didn't keep an actual copy of it.

This happened to me too when my mum died and her bank (NatWest) where she had lodged as the safest place she could think of claimed it had lost the will. I had loads of copies to prove she made it but they weren't good enough and rather shockingly the bank's legal people told me to file for intestacy and basically tell a lie that she didn't make a will! I was very lucky that eventually someone from the bank bothered to look a bit more closely and it was found but it took 2+ years to get probate

Crikey, it sounds like we'd all do well to distribute multiple copies to various people in differing geographies to be on the safe side [pun intended].

Surely this an area wide open for digitisation?

But certainly in my case, copies weren't regarded as valid, so I don't know what the answer is.

If a solicitors firm closes (unusual, they're usually taken over by another firm and the wills go to the new firm) the wills are sent to the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) for storage. A local firm was closed down by the SRA and all the wills were taken there including FIL's. It was easy to retrieve.

The Probate Registry is part of HMCTS which stands for HM Courts & Tribunal Service so it covers all the courts including criminal, civil and family. After your death, the original will is sent there with the application for probate.

I have a fireproof filing cabinet from a solicitors office with all the documents but someone could remove it...

This is why you should be open and let everyone - especially the executors - that it exists and where it is. They don't need a copy at this stage unless you want them to have one.

@CharlotteStreetW1 I have been very open and told executors where the will is plus a friend who is a lawyer but if closest relative got there first and removed the will they would inherit in the absence of a will. I guess if executors have a copy then that would prove relative had a motive to destroy it but I was hoping to take responsibility from executors for safe keeping and to pay someone.

National Will registry can store your will for a fee - ours are stored there.
The page below explains how they are stored.

www.nationalwillregister.co.uk/storing-a-will/

@Needanadultgapyear thanks for this but the national will register dont store copies they just have a link on your link to recommend a company called national will safe who will store originals for £20 per year but no idea if that is regulated or actually safe. I have spoken to both companies.

A copy isn't legal is it? and you re right the Nat Will registration service doesn't store a Will, just informs the executors where it might be.

I ve my Will stored at the solicitors and he in turn gives a certified copy to another local solicitor, they store each others Wills in case of fire etc.

However, you reminded me, i ve never told my DD any of this!!! oh dear!

HMCTS is for probate applications in this context.

This is wrong. OP is correct. HMCTS offer a service to store wills and codicils. It costs £22 and is separate from probate applications. They keep it securely. You can withdraw it at any time and your executors can withdraw it after your death.

@prh47bridge thank you this is what I thought. Is this the safest option? It seems it should be if they do the probate. Do I register it on will registry too if I use hmcts?

Using HMCTS ensures that your will is stored securely, but that doesn't help if your executors don't know it is there. Putting it on the will registry gives them a way to find out, but they will have to pay to get the information. If your executors know where your will is securely stored, the only benefit to using the register is that it provides a backup in case they forget.

There is also the National Will Register which might be of interest although I don't think you actually send the will. nationalwillregister.co.uk

I've never heard of this but had a look at it - I thought it might be some governemnt thing with a name like that but it's a private entity run by lawyers.

Guess what? You have to pay to search on it £65 up to £140. What a bunch of deceivers IMO using a name like 'National" will register.

You just need to let nearest and dearest know which solicitors hold the original will and have something in your house that is easily accessible - like on the fridge door that if necessary will direct emergency sevices (say you die alone at home w no relatives) to where your file with this info is.

This is the official HMCTs link about this - this is what you want if you are interested in this rather than that "National" Will profiteers.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/store-a-will-with-the-probate-service

@Needanadultgapyear stay away from the national will register - it's not "national" or "official" in any sense. It;s a private commercial enterprise.

This is what you want if that is your thing - the government:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/store-a-will-with-the-probate-service

but there is no need for it really unless you are expecting to die alone without relatives or named beneficiaries who you can tell where your will is and which solicitors hold it.