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Should My Solicitor Register My Will?

Posted on 21st May 2020

You may be surprised to know that registration of Wills is not compulsory in the UK. Many people wouldn’t even consider the possibility of registering their Will, especially if they have used an online Will drafting service or they have drafted their own Will using a store-bought Will pack (which, generally, really isn’t a good idea – you should always seek expert legal advice, such as from our local solicitors for Wills, when contemplating making a Will).

A Will determines the possessions you are leaving, and to whom, and is a person’s last chance to communicate with friend and family. So, it’s only right that our team of local solicitors for Wills, register our clients’ signed Wills with Certainty, the National Will Register.

In fact, to highlight the benefits and importance of registering Wills, Certainty the National Will Register are offering all non-member law firms (i.e. those who do not pay to register their client’s Wills, already) the chance to register all their clients’ Wills for free for a whole month.

So, to help people to understand the importance of registering your Will, our local solicitors for Wills outline the benefits and common misconceptions that we hear from our Wills clients, below.

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Why would people not register their Wills?

A common phrase that our team hear (all too often, we will add) is: “I’ll tell my children/friend/spouse (or other trusted person) where my Will is, and they’ll remember”. But, what if they don’t? It’s unrealistic to expect someone to remember the name/details/location of the solicitors who drafted/hold a Will for you, when, quite often, you may not even remember yourself.

Furthermore, what if the trusted person that you asked to safely remember the location of your Will isn’t available? For example, if they’ve predeceased you or moved away or you no longer speak to them, they may not be there to remember where your Will was located. Therefore, your surviving loved ones might not be able to find your final Will. This could mean that your Estate doesn’t pass to who you want it to.

What are the benefits of registering my Will?

Not only do many Wills Solicitors recommend registering your Will with Certainty, the Law Society (the independent professional body for Solicitors in England and Wales) also endorses it, which you can read about, here.

There are also other benefits:-

#1 Missing Wills could mean lost inheritance for your loved ones

If your loved ones are unable to locate your Will, it could mean that they have to distribute your Estate in line with the Rules of Intestacy. This could be a big problem, especially if your Estate isn’t just passing to your spouse or children.

For example, if this happened, any gifts that you’ve made to your friends, family or charities could fail. Any provisions that you’ve made for care of your children or pets could fail. More importantly, if you purposely didn’t include a relative, the provisions that you put in place instead could fail. In short, you made the effort to find the time to make a Will and to consider your loved ones, so this could all be wasted if your Will fails.

#2 Storing Wills

People forget where they have stored their Will all the time. It’s not because people are just forgetful; sometimes we can barely remember what we had for lunch last week, let alone where we put our original (and very important) Will which we stored away a year, or 10 years, ago.

Another major issue which can occur, especially if you are storing the Will yourself at home, is that the original could be damaged and your loved ones never find it. If they then carried out a Will search (and your Will was actually registered), the solicitors who drafted the original Will may have a copy. Whilst a copy is not usually sufficient for applications for Probate, these can sometimes be used if the original Will has been accidently destroyed or damaged.

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How much does it cost to register a Will with Certainty the National Will Register?

If you instruct our expert Wills and Trusts solicitors in Preston or Lancaster, as we subscribe to Certainty’s National Will Register, we will register your Will. As local solicitors, we believe in looking after our clients, so we pay for the Will Registration service, and we don’t pass these charges onto our clients.

If you’ve drafted your Will yourself and you want to register the existence of it, you can find out about Certainty’s charges, here, and you can contact them to discuss the process of a one-off registration.

How do I register my Will with Certainty the National Will Register?

If our team of Will drafters have dealt with the preparation of your Will on your behalf, we can deal with the registration at no extra cost or work to you. You literally don’t have to do a thing. Suddenly, Will registration doesn’t sound too bad, right?

It’s an easy process as our Will drafters are experts in registering Wills, and do so on a daily basis.

If you want to register your Will and you haven’t used our team of local solicitors for Wills, you will need to contact Certainty directly to find out about the process.

How can I instruct MG Legal to draft my Will?

Contact our expert Will Solicitors online, here, or email wills@mglegal.co.uk. Alternatively, contact your team of local solicitors for Wills at the office nearest to you.

We offer excellent fixed fees: our charges are just £110.00 plus VAT for a single Will and £195.00 plus VAT for mirror Wills. And, we’re offering all NHS, Civil Servants and shop workers an excellent 50% off all fixed legal fees until 31st May, which you can read about, here.

*Prices correct at time of posting.

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To speak to a solicitor today, contact us online here. Or give us a call on 01772 783314