Storing your will

Where oh where can that little will be?

Will storage presents several options, some better than others, and some to be avoided at all costs (because they will cost a small fortune in the end).

You can keep your will at home but will it be safe (for that matter, do you have a safe?), and will your surviving family members or executors be able to find it? Indeed, survivors have been known to destroy wills not to their liking, so you may not want to store it at home if wilful destruction is a possibility.

You can also store your will with your solicitors, your bank, or a will-storage service. With the latter, you will almost certainly have to pay a fee; you may get service so lousy as to be a disservice, and you may have to pay handsomely for it. See Buyer Beware.

Wills can also be stored online. One potential drawback is that an internet-based storage company that is solvent today may go bust tomorrow - and your will may get lost in the ether.

certainty.co.uk is a national wills register exclusively used by solicitors, lawyers, STEP members and ILEX Fellows. ILEX is the Institute of Legal Executives.

Wills can be safely stored with the Principal Probate Registry. Leaflet PA7 is " How to deposit a will with the Probate Service." Form PA7A is "Withdrawing your will from the Principal Probate Registry." You have to pay a fee for storage (a single fee if a codicil and a will are stored together), but if you change your will and file the new version, you have to pay another fee. Probate Brochures has a full list of Probate Service brochures and forms.

WWP TIP
'Do not store your will in your safety deposit box. The box can’t be opened until Probate is granted and Probate can’t be granted without the original will'

HM Courts Service

Lost and found..and lost

Some wills are genuinely lost but some are intentionally destroyed, usually by someone who has more to gain by intestacy or an earlier will. Consider giving a photocopy of your will to a beneficiary or trusted associate, and tell them the name of the solicitor or other professional who drafted your will and where the original is located.