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Deliberately destroying a will
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Spendless said:Emmia said:Sea_Shell said:Do HMCTS actually take a copy of the will themselves and keep it on record, or just store the will in a sealed envelope?
Does that only prove there was a will, not what was in it.
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Emmia said:Spendless said:Emmia said:Sea_Shell said:Do HMCTS actually take a copy of the will themselves and keep it on record, or just store the will in a sealed envelope?
Does that only prove there was a will, not what was in it.
My will isn't stored at the solicitors - at best they have an unsigned version and no idea what happened to the posted out copy.
So what happens if someone dies, the relatives can't find a will, is there any sort of check other than HMCTS to see if there is one?0 -
Spendless said:Emmia said:Spendless said:Emmia said:Sea_Shell said:Do HMCTS actually take a copy of the will themselves and keep it on record, or just store the will in a sealed envelope?
Does that only prove there was a will, not what was in it.
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When my husband and I completed our Wills with a local solicitor, the originals were stored in their safe. The location of the Wills was sent to the National Wills Register (Certainty), although I'm not sure if copies were sent also. Presumably the solicitor firm has a duty to pass any original Wills to a new firm if they close and the details of the location of these Wills is then updated on the Register.We were provided with photocopies and details of the registration numbers for the National Wills Register. When my husband died I contacted the solicitor directly who sent me the original Will so I could send it off for Probate. They still have my original Will, but following my husband's death I will need to make a new Will and will inform the solicitor once this is done so that they are aware that the original they hold in no longer my Last Will and Testament. I'm unsure what they will do with the Will they have at that point.We kept the copies of our Wills and the registration certificate for National Wills Register in our safe, so shortly after my husband died I was able to get his copy out of the safe when I was asked about it.In your example I would suggest that the mother lodge the original Will with a solicitor. I'm surprised the firm gave the mother the original Will back and didn't store it securely themselves. It would also be worth the mother having a frank conversation with her children to explain the disparate division of assets and the reasons why she has chosen to do this. I know of an instance in my distant family where one child was given a larger proportion of the estate by their parents. This was intentional because the other two siblings had amassed substantial assets themselves over the years whereas the third sibling was in a not as lucrative line of work. The parents ultimately wanted all three children to be well provided for and giving an uneven division of assets was one way of ensuring this. All siblings were happy with the arrangement and knew about it in advance.0
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Sea_Shell said:Do HMCTS actually take a copy of the will themselves and keep it on record, or just store the will in a sealed envelope?
Does that only prove there was a will, not what was in it.You send the signed will to the Probate Service in a sealed envelope.You list the executors on a piece of paper that is kept with your sealed will.They send you a code number which you can use to retrieve the will at any time if you want to make changes.You tell your executors where the will is being stored and give them the code.In the case as explained in the first post, it wouldn't be wise to have the son as one of the executors as he could delay completion in a variety of ways in the hope of being gifted a larger part of the estate, just the speed things along.
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