Who has custody of a Will?

sparklybear

I have a housebound relative in her mid-80s who recently made a Will. The solicitor was recommended to her by another relative and it was she who arranged for the solicitor to visit the elderly relative at home to make the Will. After the initial visit to take instructions, the solicitor returned with the Will for my relative to sign it.
My relative now wants to have the Will to keep with her papers at home. She tells me that the solicitor has refused to let her have it, or give her a copy!
I am sure that this cannot possibly be right. When I made my Will, the solicitor gave it to me without quibbling. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed?
I also have concerns about the validity of the Will because, as far as I am aware, there were no witnesses present when my relative signed it.
Unfortunately, there is a considerable geographical distance between me and my elderly relative so our contact is limited to email and phone calls and, although she is mentally pretty sharp, she does get a little confused when it comes to officialdom.

Marcon

sparklybear said:

I have a housebound relative in her mid-80s who recently made a Will. The solicitor was recommended to her by another relative and it was she who arranged for the solicitor to visit the elderly relative at home to make the Will. After the initial visit to take instructions, the solicitor returned with the Will for my relative to sign it.
My relative now wants to have the Will to keep with her papers at home. She tells me that the solicitor has refused to let her have it, or give her a copy!
I am sure that this cannot possibly be right. When I made my Will, the solicitor gave it to me without quibbling. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed?
I also have concerns about the validity of the Will because, as far as I am aware, there were no witnesses present when my relative signed it.
Unfortunately, there is a considerable geographical distance between me and my elderly relative so our contact is limited to email and phone calls and, although she is mentally pretty sharp, she does get a little confused when it comes to officialdom.

If there were no witnesses present when she signed it, then it's not valid - but what makes you think that was the case?

No solicitor has the right to refuse to release a document belonging to a client, and certainly not to refuse them a copy if they are tasked with holding the original.

If you know who the solicitor is, I'd be tempted to send them an email explaining what you've said above in your post, acknowledging that they can't deal with you as you aren't their client, but saying you'll ask your relative to update you when you speak to her in [10 days].

sparklybear

Thank you for your reply, Marcon. The reason I suspect there were no witnesses is that my elderly relative rarely has company and she tends to tell me if she has had a visitor. She didn’t say anything about there being extra people present when the solicitor returned with the Will. I will check with her, though.
I will also try to follow your advice about contacting the solicitor on her behalf. Many thanks!

elsien

Has she paid for it yet? That would be one reason for them not to hand it over.

p00hsticks

sparklybear said:

After the initial visit to take instructions, the solicitor returned with the Will for my relative to sign it.

I also have concerns about the validity of the Will because, as far as I am aware, there were no witnesses present when my relative signed it.

From the sound of it there was at least one witness, as (unless they are a beneficiary) the solicitor themselves is perfectly entitled to sign as a witness. And In the circumstances they may well have brought a colleague along to witness the signing too.  

Albermarle

p00hsticks said:

sparklybear said:

After the initial visit to take instructions, the solicitor returned with the Will for my relative to sign it.

I also have concerns about the validity of the Will because, as far as I am aware, there were no witnesses present when my relative signed it.

From the sound of it there was at least one witness, as (unless they are a beneficiary) the solicitor themselves is perfectly entitled to sign as a witness. And In the circumstances they may well have brought a colleague along to witness the signing too.  

Although this would not explain their apparent unwillingness to send her a copy.

Bostonerimus1

Not providing a copy of the will sounds very strange to me. My estate lawyer has the original of my will and estate plan and my executors, trust beneficiaries and I also have copies.

newlywed

Does she have an outstanding bill with the company? Or has she fully paid for their work?

sparklybear

Thank you for all the replies. It seems that my elderly relative HAD paid the solicitor by cheque at their first visit, and they have now agreed to let her have her Will.

As for who witnessed the signing of the Will, I still haven’t managed to get a straight answer! I am assuming that the solicitor who brought the Will to the house was one witness and hoping - as has been suggested - that they brought a colleague with them. Either way, I don’t want to worry my elderly relative unnecessarily so I will assume everything is in order and will let the matter drop now!