Creating official copies of my mother's will

[Deleted User]

My mother died recently, and I found the original will at her house. It use to be kept with her solicitor, however the solicitor stopped keeping wills in their possession, and she never gave it to anothr solicitor or registered the will. I also have some photocopies (one photocopy was already in my possession).

Is it typical to also get some "official" copies of the will? i.e. signed or stamped by a solicitor. When I send the original for probate, I would hate for it to be lost in the post.

[Deleted User]

Well, it looks like I may have found the answer, so I will post it here so it helps any future readers:

https://www.gov.uk/certifying-a-document

I'm sure I did this for my dad's will a few years ago, but it's easy to forget something you do so infrequently.

p00hsticks

Personally I never found a need for certified copies - several organisations wanted signt of the will, but were quite happy with copies that I'd just scanned, converted to a PDF and printed off.

The main thing to be wary of if taking your own copy is not to remove staples or other attachments that are holding the pages together.

And when sending the original to the probate office, use a tracked delivery method - Royal Mail offer several.

Froglet

I sent my Mums will off to the probate office about 3 weeks ago.Used the tracked and signed for service and 24 hours later got the proof it had been received and signed for.As secure and safe as you can be,nothing is 100% safe but I shouldn't worry too much.

[Deleted User]

Froglet said:

I sent my Mums will off to the probate office about 3 weeks ago.Used the tracked and signed for service and 24 hours later got the proof it had been received and signed for.As secure and safe as you can be,nothing is 100% safe but I shouldn't worry too much.

Thanks, but I am probably sending it from Germany. Unless of course I need to send it when I am back on the 24th Feb. Not sure how fast these things move. First I need to wait on NS&I, so I'm not hopeful.

[Deleted User]

p00hsticks said:

Personally I never found a need for certified copies - several organisations wanted signt of the will, but were quite happy with copies that I'd just scanned, converted to a PDF and printed off.

The main thing to be wary of if taking your own copy is not to remove staples or other attachments that are holding the pages together.

And when sending the original to the probate office, use a tracked delivery method - Royal Mail offer several.

There are only 2 pages, neither have any staples etc. Just seperate sheets.

Froglet

[Deleted User] said:

Froglet said:

I sent my Mums will off to the probate office about 3 weeks ago.Used the tracked and signed for service and 24 hours later got the proof it had been received and signed for.As secure and safe as you can be,nothing is 100% safe but I shouldn't worry too much.

Thanks, but I am probably sending it from Germany. Unless of course I need to send it when I am back on the 24th Feb. Not sure how fast these things move. First I need to wait on NS&I, so I'm not hopeful.

There is no hurry.Mum died late September,and as far as I know,there is no time limit on submitting the probate form.Safer to send from this country.Plus you need all the debts and savings applicable to the estate to be able to inform them accurately.

Gers

[Deleted User] said:

Froglet said:

I sent my Mums will off to the probate office about 3 weeks ago.Used the tracked and signed for service and 24 hours later got the proof it had been received and signed for.As secure and safe as you can be,nothing is 100% safe but I shouldn't worry too much.

Thanks, but I am probably sending it from Germany. Unless of course I need to send it when I am back on the 24th Feb. Not sure how fast these things move. First I need to wait on NS&I, so I'm not hopeful.

https://www.deutschepost.de/en/b/briefe-ins-ausland.html

Seems to be possible, see further down the website.

SiliconChip

I would very much recommend getting a certified copy, in part for the reason given by the OP in case it gets lost on the way to HMCTS when applying for probate. Only one organisation wanted to see the Will while I was dealing with my mother's estate but they insisted on it being a certified copy (luckily they were happy with a scan sent to them by email so I didn't need to let it out of my hands). Fortunately her solicitor had the original Will and they provided a certified copy free of charge.