Will storage fees

[forgetmeknot8]

Hello
we are being quoted £39 a year to store a will. I have no idea if this is a reasonable cost or not. Does anyone have any ideas please? Thank you in advance

I'm no expert, but I've never heard of this and it sounds a bit sus to me. Why can't you just store your will among your own papers, and have the solicitor who drew it up keep a copy on file?

You can store it directly with the probate office for a one off fee of £23.

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

It’s not necessary. Ours is stored at home.

If you pay a good firm of solicitors to draft the will, IME they will hold the original for free. It's good sense for them because in the event the executors want legal assistance to deal with tax or probate., they are most likely to go to those solicitors.

I've never heard of a will storage fee and I think I would look elsewhere.

Oh interesting, ours is stored for £30 a year by ‘national will safe’. I will look to change this to the probate service!

Ours store ours for free. You pay the solicitors the write the will up and they would normally keep a copy and they give you a copy. I think it is assumed that when needs must they will do probate etc.

Same as players above, our solicitor has the original and we have a copy. No further charge after the cost of the will writing .

It is very easy to store a will for a one off fee at the probate office. It's around £25. We did this a few years ago. Look on the gov.uk website. You print off a form, stick the will in a sealed envelope, stick the form to the envelope and send it with the payment.
When we did ours, the website said 'attach the cheque to the envelope'. Our bank account doesn't use cheques, so I phoned, on hold for ages, finally got through and asked how do I pay. The reply was, 'A lot of people phone to ask that, use a postal order'. I was so annoyed I wrote to my local MP to ask why the payment cannot be made on line, and if it needs a physical payment, why does the website not say 'cheque or postal order' I got a reply from the Minister of Justice telling me the wording on the website has now been changed, and they are looking at how they can introduce an online payment system. The first time I have ever contacted my MP and felt like I had made a major change.

Be prepared for that to be 'disappeared' if not in family members favour. Never underestimate how people behave around money, wills and wishes. Log it at the central registry.

Well, it is at the solicitors who prepared it too. (Should have said that first too)

So in fact your post was completely wrong and completely misleading when you said it was stored at home. There is only one original will - the first one that is physcially 'wet signed' by the person making the will.

If the original will is at the solicitors it is not "at the solicitors too", it is held by the solicitors full stop.

What you have "at home" will be a copy.

If the person dies, you need the original 'wet signed' will to get probate. This is why it is normal for a will to be left with solicitors for security, certainty and to avoid 'disappearance' by disgruntled relatives and like I said above, I've never known a reputable solicitors firm charge for "storage". Relatives have collected original wills after death (if you are the exectuors you need to go with photo id etc to get it released to you) sometimes 40 years after it was made where no charge was ever made or suggested for storage. If you pay for the will to be drafted, the solicitors normally hold the original for you free of charge.

Ours was originally with the solicitors who drafted it, kept for free. We wanted to take off one if the executors, but when we called they had stopped doing wills. They would continue to store it, but would need to draw up a new will with a different solicitor. So we re typed the original will, changing the executors, double and triple checked that all the other wording was identical to the original. Printed it, signed and witnessed and sent to the Probate office. I would stress that it is a simple situation. Just us, 2DCs, no DGCs and no changes since the original will was deawn up. If you have a more complicated situation, then go to a solicitor.

I pay £10 a year will storage but that also means I can have as many free will changes I like

which is worth it’s weight in gold esp as seperated last year from dh

We have 2 stored together with National Will Safe, I think, for 2 together.

I think its worth it, should the house burn to the ground. Dc wouldn't have a clue which solicitor to ask.

Yes if in will storage and you die , your name goes into it and will found at once

many keep in a home - If a fire wouid be screwed esp if not second copy

Ours did the 'charged a little to help make the will, store it for free' thing others have mentioned. I think it was only £25 originally, but that was 15 years ago tbf.

Thank you for your replies. And what a result @Lincslady53, well done.
I should have said it is an NHS benefit ‘let us do your will for free’ jobbie. So perhaps they are recouping costs of the ‘free’ will writing. They are also trying to flog us all sorts of add ons, like putting the house into trust etc that I am ignoring.

Do you need to store it? Ours is at home, with a copy at SIL house (executor). Also make sure you don’t name the solicitor as executor, that’s another way they make money out of “free” will writing.