Solicitor keeps hold of original will

katzy5

My mother is hoping to get a will written soon. Been in touch with a local solicitors firm and it seems they keep hold of the original will, giving the client only a copy. Is this normal procedure? They use their own internal staff as witnesses for the client. As i understand it the copy has little to no value when it comes to probate etc. My mother thinks they do this to secure the future probate costs and any other future business from the family.

Do many people use the National Will Register to store their will? Would it be better to store the original will at the solicitors or somewhere else?

Also my mother has told me she would like me to be the primary executor. I only have one brother who lives in Canada and we almost have no contact with him. Would it be ok to have the solicitor be the secondary executor or is that not recommended?

So many questions. If anyone has experience or can help advise on this it would be very much appreciated, thanks.

Keep_pedalling

It is quite normal for solicitors to provide storage, our wills are held by our solicitor and we have copies. 

diystarter7

Keep_pedalling said:

It is quite normal for solicitors to provide storage, our wills are held by our solicitor and we have copies. 

Trues and always try to ensure that any updates are via the solicitor if you are using one..

lr1277

My parents' solicitor is keeping hold of their original wills. However at the time, he provided a copy of each one. Recently I asked for one of the the originals.

He suggested he could send me the original as long as he got a letter from all the beneficiaries saything they wanted the original will. Another option he gave us was an electronic copy of the will, so we got that and are holding off on getting the original. The electronic copy was emailed from his work address, though that doesn't make a difference if you are uploading the document to a website.

HTH

Mojisola

katzy5 said:

My mother is hoping to get a will written soon. Been in touch with a local solicitors firm and it seems they keep hold of the original will, giving the client only a copy. Is this normal procedure?

My mother thinks they do this to secure the future probate costs and any other future business from the family.

Do many people use the National Will Register to store their will? Would it be better to store the original will at the solicitors or somewhere else?

Also my mother has told me she would like me to be the primary executor. I only have one brother who lives in Canada and we almost have no contact with him. Would it be ok to have the solicitor be the secondary executor or is that not recommended?

It is normal for a solicitor to store the original.  There are so many ways an original will could get mislaid or deliberately 'lost' if it is kept at home.

Most solicitors don't charge for storage but they may have a retrieval fee as the paperwork will most likely be stored at a secure site.

We have lodged our wills with HM Courts & Tribunal Service - www.gov.uk/government/publications/store-a-will-with-the-probate-service

As it's always worth having more than one executor, she could make you the sole executor and name the solicitor's firm as a back-up if you are incapable by then or pre-decease her. 

Don't make them a joint executor with you. 

As executor, you can always employ a solicitor to deal with estate while staying the executor yourself if you chose to.

msb1234

my mother stored her original will with a solicitor, but they were not named as executors. When she died, I had to attend the solicitors in person with my proof of identity to retrieve the will. At the same time, I got them to make certified copies as I knew other people may need sight of her will. I paid £5 for each copy. 

JJWSJS8700

Has anyone had a solicitor keep a will in his strong room along with other legal documents i.e. trusts, etcetera.

user1977

JJWSJS8700 said:

Has anyone had a solicitor keep a will in his strong room along with other legal documents i.e. trusts, etcetera.

Yes, all pretty normal.

Brie

Solicitors held wills for both MiL & FiL and we have never bothered to retrieve them at all despite them both having died.  I suppose we should let them know at some point.  But we've a copy of each and my OH is named as executor and ultimate sole beneficiary so it's completely straight forward.  Nothing needed for probate as probate was never required.

There could be something in the will saying you are the executor but in your absence your brother could do the honours.  Or at that point go to a cousin or family friend perhaps, maybe your spouse or kids?  Just so there's an alternative.  Solicitors are in business to make money so will charge for anything they need to do following the death so unless things are dreadfully complicated I'd be leaving them out.  As I recall my own mom's will is like her POAs in that it states that any 2 of us kids can be executors.  

JGB1955

We keep our wills in a fire safe at home - cheaper than the sum our solicitors were suggesting.  We also update a 'what to do on death/where all the accounts are' every month or so.  Our POAs are there too.  Our children know where the documents are.... no waiting for a document to be retrieved from a solicitors storage unit (possibly only opened once a week).  

katzy5

Thanks for all your responses everyone. It has calmed my nerves a little. Solicitor can keep the original as long as we have a certified copy. I will look into getting it properly registered if possible.

This was becoming more stressful than going for a job interview heh. So i finally picked up the telephone and called my brother to get his opinion. To my surprise he has absolutely no qualms about me being the primary executor and/or beneficiary. Mum thinks with him being so far away, it might be more convenient to make me both. But this is also scary for me - it sounds like a lot of responsibility.

Can i ask when people say "The Estate" does that include everything a person owns? or just money/bank accounts, furniture, possessions and other valuables but excluding property?

Also suggested above was the POA. Mum doesnt have those done yet. Would it better to have them done by the same solicitor or find someone new?