Bank has lost original copies of will

[bilbodog]

Hi, posting for a friend. Husband died a few months ago - all was OK as all finances etc. owned jointly so no need for probate until bank told her there is an ISA - but in order to receive this money she now has to do probate.

pronlem is the bank who organised the wills about 24 years ago cant ‘find’ the original copies

anyone have experience of this?

You can apply for probate without a will, just means that it needs to follow rules of interstacy. As the wife everything should automatically go to her.

Unless there are multiple ex wives and step kids this shouldn’t really be a problem.

Similar thing happened to me, turns out my dads will was an unsigned copy and the original is with a legal firm that vanished in the 90s. Didn’t make any difference though as am only child.

As said above, with no copy of the will it's assumed your friend's husband has died intestate.

Is she sure they didn't get a copy when it was written up? It could save some time if she can dig it out.

Is there a copy of it with the National Will Register? If it was drawn up by a solicitor then they should have a copy as well.

You can prove a copy will if you think it wasn't revoked but can't find the original: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/104107

Sounds like your friend needs proper legal advice, suggest searching for a STEP qualified private client solicitor.

Shes going to check on the national register. She does have copies but they are unsigned ones.

if she goes down the intestate route it will presumably take ages and if she uses a solicitor to help that will cost. Would she be able to claim the money back from the bank as it is their fault the wills are lost.

The interstate process is is exactly the same as probate with a will, the only difference is you tick a different box.

You don’t need a solicitor either, all you need to do is go online and fill in the form.

Thanks for the help. Will pass on the information.

I don’t think everything does got to the wife, unless there are no children. In England at least.

iirc only the first 325k goes to the spouse. Half of anything over than goes to the spouse, the other half is divided amongst any children.

Joint assets will go to the survivor, if the only sole asset was the ISA and the value is up to £322k, it will also go to the spouse.

I think some are misunderstanding the point of the post which is that the bank are asking for probate before handing over the ISA - there is no question over who is entitled to the money.

to apply for probate my friend needs the original will.

the bank seem to have LOST the will.

If there is a copy she can submit that for probate. I think there may be a question about it being a true copy to the best knowledge or whatever, but you can apply for probate with a copy.

if there is no original nor copy she can apply for probate with not will. Intestacy rules will apply- so she will get the first £325k, anything over split between her and any children.

she can still go ahead and apply for probate though 🤷‍♀️. She does not have to have the original will.

eta- it shouldn’t cost any more or take longer if she applies under intestacy. Still 16 weeks for probate. I will say though that probate is often granted much more quickly if you do use a solicitor.

It's a Grant of Letters of Administration rather than a Grant of Probate as no valid Will can be produced.

Not with Wills but years ago when we got married DH signed Power Attorney because he had to go overseas. I called the bank when he needed something done and they’d lost the documents.

Thanks all. I dont think the will copies she has will work as they are un-signed. There are no children - only her.

Is thé ISA also with the bank who have lost the will? If it is, straight to the Ombudsman, it is their incompetence and unwillingness to talk internally which is giving her the problem

Actually I think she should be agitating for compensation for the lost will. People deposit the will at the bank because, you know, it supposed to be a safe and responsible custodian.

No shes not vulnerable other than coping with the sudden death of her DH
2 months ago - so early days. She thought she had everything sorted until this ISA appeared. Im Just trying to be helpful.

We had this when my DF passed away. The bank simply said that they didn't have it.
When MIL passed away - she had been very organised and meticulous in everything and had drawn up a will with one solicitor and instructed another one to hold it. Something that used to be done often years ago I think -
The solicitor who was supposed to hold the will simply said again that they couldn't find it / didn't have it, and DP had to go through probate. There should be a government record system in place for wills that banks and solicitors have to adhere to that gives a specific reference, it would be so much easier for bereaved relatives.

It’s disgusting that a Bank has lost the Will. When my MIL died, it took the Bank about 2 weeks before they eventually found it. OP does the same Bank hold her Will as well. She might want to get it and keep it herself, probably safer.