Wills, can they be registered

collectors

Hi, is there a place i can place/register my up to date will, so if i die someone will be informed upon my death. At the moment, everything has been left to my brother just to save the government getting it.
Now, i may want to change the will but don't want to get involved with telling my brother that he may not be the main benefactor, even though he may benefit.
Its a case that my brother has a copy of the present will, but don't want to create animosity if there is another will, but they would need to be informed upon my death.

Mojisola

There isn't anywhere to leave your will that will inform people that you've died. How would they know?

Whoever registers your death will look for a will.

Robin9

Who is the Executor of your present will and have they a copy ?

Tom99

You can deposit you will with the Probate Service for safekeeping here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-deposit-a-will-with-the-probate-service-a-guide-for-people-who-want-to-deposit-a-will-for-safekeeping-pa7
However your executor would need to contact them to retrieve the will after your death.
Who will be the executor in your new will you do not wish your brother to see?
Presumable he is your closest relative so it seems a pretty mean trick to let him think you have entrusted him with a copy of your up to date will only to find out after your death, when he will be grieving your loss, that you have deliberately deceived him.

Keep_pedalling

Leaving a copy of an out of date will with your brother without informing him that you have made a new one is simply asking for trouble after you have gone, please be honest with him.

If the current will has him as the sole beneficiary then it has a strong chance of failing in its main aim as he could easily die before you.

Get a new will draw up with a solicitor, please don’t DIY it. They will store the will for you at no additional charge.

collectors

Mojisola wrote: »

There isn't anywhere to leave your will that will inform people that you've died. How would they know?

Whoever registers your death will look for a will.

This i would of thought would be a facility that the registers of deaths could offer. "even for a fee" as i could die & a member of my family finds a new will & rips it up, as they would be out of pocket by many hundreds of thousands.

Mojisola

collectors wrote: »

This i would of thought would be a facility that the registers of deaths could offer. "even for a fee" as i could die & a member of my family finds a new will & rips it up, as they would be out of pocket by many hundreds of thousands.

You can leave the signed will with a solicitor or the Probate Service - they will release the will to the executors but they won't inform anyone of your death.

elsien

It doesn't have to be a straight choice of brother or government.
There's always the charity option. And they can be quite ferocious in checking death records and chasing their legacies.
But it would be a very unkind thing to let your brother think he's inheriting when he isn't. If you think so little of him, you need to reconsider your options anyway.

collectors

Your right, it will be better to inform my brother 1st. It was a case of him being my only direct relative to make life easy for a will that was drawn up 12 years ago & i now would prefer to split any money to charities. I don't have any problems with my brother, but only speak about once a year & if not longer, so i would prefer the money to be spread around. I could still keep him as an executor to the will with what we might call a nice drink for dealing with things.

Mojisola

collectors wrote: »

Your right, it will be better to inform my brother 1st. It was a case of him being my only direct relative to make life easy for a will that was drawn up 12 years ago & i now would prefer to split any money to charities. I don't have any problems with my brother, but only speak about once a year & if not longer, so i would prefer the money to be spread around. I could still keep him as an executor to the will with what we might call a nice drink for dealing with things.

If you are giving him a lot less than he would have got under the old will, it's not very fair to also land him with all the responsibility!

If I was him, I would probably refuse to do it.