Where can you store your Will?
If anything happens to your will, or if your executor does not know where to find it, you might as well not have written one. You need to decide how to look after your will, then let your executor know where it is.
Storing your will where others can find it
If anything happens to your will, or if your executor does not know where to find it, you might as well not have written one. You need to decide how to look after your will, then let your executor know where it is.
Key considerations:
Where not to keep your will
Tell your executor where your will is
Ways of storing a will
Where not to keep your will
Never keep your will in a bank safety deposit box.
When someone dies, the bank can’t open the deposit box until the executor gets probate (permission from the court to administer your affairs) – and probate can’t be granted without the will.
Always make sure that your will can be accessed without probate.
Tell your executor where your will is
Once you’ve made your decision about how to deposit your will for safekeeping, it’s essential to make sure that your executors know where it is and how to get it.
Don’t just tell them – write it down.
Ways of storing a will
There isn’t any particular place that the law says you must deposit your will.
Choose the option that’s safest and most appropriate for you.
1. Leave it with a lawyer
If a lawyer writes your will, they will usually store the original free of charge and give you a copy – but ask them to make sure.
Most lawyers will also store a will they didn’t write, but there will probably be a fee.
Lawyers are regulated so if the will is lost or damaged you have recourse to make things right.
2. Lodge it with the National Will Register - via Walsh West Law
For more information and to lodge your will contact us today.
3. Lodge it with the HMCTS Probate Service (England and Wales)
The Probate Service will store your will for you – you have to lodge it with them officially and make official requests to take it out again.
There is, at a flat fee of £20.
There’s more information about storing your will with the Probate Service on the HM Courts and Tribunal Service website.
4. Keep your will yourself
You can keep your will with your other documents, in a safe, or anywhere else you like – just make sure your executor knows where it is.
Whilst this may not cost you anything it is a high-risk solution as the will might be lost, thrown away or damaged accidentally. It may not be found by those who need it when you die.
Never attach other documents to the will with staples, paperclips or anything else. They leave a mark on the will, raising questions about whether the will is missing a part or an amendment. This makes things more difficult for your executor, which can be costly and time consuming.
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For advice about Estate Planning including Lasting Powers of Attorney, Wills, Trusts and Probate; call our team on 0203 488 7503, 01992 236 110 or contact us by email at welcome@walshwestcca.com or via our website www.walshwestcca.com and we will help you.
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