Using copy of your will to make another

Boleyn19

I hope this is the right place for this question. I think I have lost the original of my will. I have found a photocopy. As there are no changes at this stage, can I date, sign and get it witnessed as my "new"will or type out date, sign and get that witnessed?

A couple of bereavements in the family has made me want to make sure my affairs are in order.

Thanks in advance.

MovingForwards

Your original will might be with the solicitors who prepared it.

You will need to type a new one if you cannot locate the original.

Yorkshireman99

Boleyn19 wrote: »

I hope this is the right place for this question. I think I have lost the original of my will. I have found a photocopy. As there are no changes at this stage, can I date, sign and get it witnessed as my "new"will or type out date, sign and get that witnessed?

A couple of bereavements in the family has made me want to make sure my affairs are in order.

Thanks in advance.

You must not under any circumstances do that errors can easily creep in unnoticed. Get the job done properly by a solicitor not a will writer. I have

loulou41

Boleyn19 wrote: »

I hope this is the right place for this question. I think I have lost the original of my will. I have found a photocopy. As there are no changes at this stage, can I date, sign and get it witnessed as my "new"will or type out date, sign and get that witnessed?

A couple of bereavements in the family has made me want to make sure my affairs are in order.

Thanks in advance.

If I were in your situation that's exactly what I would do. I would type a new one using the copy. Ask the executor to check it. Get it signed, dated and witnessed. Not everybody will agree with me but I cannot see anything going wrong if you are copying word for word and it is a basic will.

Savvy_Sue

loulou41 wrote: »

If I were in your situation that's exactly what I would do. I would type a new one using the copy. Ask the executor to check it. Get it signed, dated and witnessed. Not everybody will agree with me but I cannot see anything going wrong if you are copying word for word and it is a basic will.

The potential problems with doing that boil down to:

a) not re-asking the 'what if' questions which a competent solicitor would have asked initially - to which the answers may well have changed in the intervening years

b) getting the signing wrong. If you don't know what you're doing, there are some very easy mistakes waiting to be made - allowing a beneficiary to sign; getting the witnesses to sign at different times when they have not seen you sign it and so on.

Also, the executor does not NEED to know what is in the will, so they do not need to check it. It is courteous to ask if they are still willing to act in this way, and it is sensible to appoint more than one, in case they lose capacity or predecease you. It's useful if they DO know what's in the will, because that might affect their response to "will you be my executor?" but it's not essential.

But I agree that the original may be with the solicitor you used to draw the will up: it's quite common for them to keep the original and leave you a copy.

Keep_pedalling

loulou41 wrote: »

If I were in your situation that's exactly what I would do. I would type a new one using the copy. Ask the executor to check it. Get it signed, dated and witnessed. Not everybody will agree with me but I cannot see anything going wrong if you are copying word for word and it is a basic will.

Well apart from copying errors, the OP has not said that the original was a professionally drafted will, so we could be talking about copying a flawed original will.

Tom99

Providing the will is a very straight forward one I see no problem with that. I have done that for my mother's will and my will. No problems were caused in administering the first and hopefully the 2nd will not be tested for many years to come.

Yorkshireman99

Tom99 wrote: »

Providing the will is a very straight forward one I see no problem with that. I have done that for my mother's will and my will. No problems were caused in administering the first and hopefully the 2nd will not be tested for many years to come.

Sadly this has often proved wrong. Particularly IHT the witnessing. Also legislaton changes requiring alterations may be needed. Only a solicitor will know this. It really is a false economy to do it this way. What if there is an error that invalidates it? This could easily disinherit someone. No no no!

Boleyn19

Further to my OP. The original will was written by a solicitor. I know I did not leave it with her.
The provisions are the same. The executor/beneficiary would still be my husband, the original witnesses are neighbours. I know who can and cannot witness and how/when they do this. I am looking at a stop gap before we redraft when younger son becomes 18.

Keep_pedalling

Boleyn19 wrote: »

Further to my OP. The original will was written by a solicitor. I know I did not leave it with her.
The provisions are the same. The executor/beneficiary would still be my husband, the original witnesses are neighbours. I know who can and cannot witness and how/when they do this. I am looking at a stop gap before we redraft when younger son becomes 18.

You should not leave any planed changes until your son reaches 18, that can easily be covered in a will written now through a clause that kicks in if he is over that age when you die.

The danger of leaving a change you know you want to make at some point in the future is that you may not have the may not have the mental capacity to do it then, or as is more often the case you simply don’t get round to doing it.

Next time though leave the original copy with the solisitor.

loulou41

Boleyn19 wrote: »

Further to my OP. The original will was written by a solicitor. I know I did not leave it with her.
The provisions are the same. The executor/beneficiary would still be my husband, the original witnesses are neighbours. I know who can and cannot witness and how/when they do this. I am looking at a stop gap before we redraft when younger son becomes 18.

It is up to you to decide. I agree with Tom99. My daughter had her will drafted by a solicitor and were not impressed. I do not see the point of getting a step solicitor for a very basic will. My understanding is that you can write your own will on a piece of paper as long as you observe the rules of witnessing, signing etc. and it will be still valid. I am only referring to very basic wills.