Is it usual to ask to see a will?

undercover_peon

Hi folks,


Having recently had a bereavement and never having had to sort out someone's affairs before I have made some tentative enquiries with the life insurance provider.


They have asked for me to send in the death certificate and the will. This was a problem initially as I couldn't locate the will and the solicitors weren't able to do much until the new year.


Anyway I have since found the will and I wondered if it was acceptable to send in a copy? Presumably they want it to ensure they aren't sending a payment to the wrong person. The thing is I only have one copy of the will unlike the death of which I have several and can get more if needed.


I know I might be worrying about nothing but what if it goes missing when they sent it back to me...

konark

The original should go to the probate court. Are you the executor named in the will? Then you should apply for probate if the estate is worth more than £5,000.
The insurance people are wanting the will to ensure you are named executor as you don't yet have a grant of probate, don't send them the original!

patanne

What Konark says! Doing probate yourself is actually fairly simple provided you are thorough/organised. It does help if you know the deceased's affairs too. The insurance co will just want to be sure that the nominated person on the insurance is up to date, as in it not going to wife 1 when there is a wife 2 or a child in 2000 when there was another in 2001 that wasn't allowed for. It just depends on the insurance. Otherwise known as covering their backs.

redmalc

undercover

one tip get six copies of the death certificate,you will need them

chris_m

redmalc wrote: »

undercover

one tip get six copies of the death certificate,you will need them

They've already said that they have several copies.

Mind you, when I did Dad's estate I'd worked out how many certificates I'd need for all the companies/organisations I'd need to notify and bought that quantity - nigh-on every one of the companies/organisations sent the darned thing back when they'd done what they needed with it. The same happened with the certified copies of the Grant of Probate.