Are wills valid if stapled in top left corner?

Minapa

I have a will written by WSL will writing (paid £150) I think back in 2020. I have been really happy with their service. However today since its free writing month i called a local solicitor recommended by the charities linked to the offer Chase Morgan Solicitors179A Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, WV2 3DR to ask if my existing will was still ok -, since there no solicitors names associated , I just had a professional will writing company write it ?

They told me any will which is stapled is deemed invalid. No holes allowed. i was quite alarmed to hear this. I called WSL , who told me they have been doing this since 1990 they have done nothing wrong.

The staples have not been tampered the pages are numbered. Who do I trust? Who do I believe?

Are stapled wills legal ? and are they valid or not - I am very confused. Please help. Thankyou in advance.

Woodstok2000

A staple doesn't invalidate a will, but any possible signs of tampering or forgery can call the whole document into question, which is why a lot of solicitors take the view that it's better not to do anything to the pages. I can imagine a scenario where a staple works its way loose, a well meaning person restaples the will, and a scheming relative then calls foul about potential tampering or missing pages…..

poseidon1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6658305/are-wills-valid-if-stapled-in-top-left-corner

The short blog below explains why wills should ideally not be stapled, although there is no express rule against doing so.

https://allanjanes.com/-The-Importance-of-a-Staple#:~:text=Ashley%20Minott%20TEP,not%20be%20admitted%20for%20Probate.

The will writing firm you used has been following a protocol, long since abandoned by professional solicitors for reasons stated in the blog, and is just one of the many reasons this forum does not reccomend ever using those types of unregulated Wills services.

otb666

I was worried when doing my relatives probate as even though their wills are bounded the pages were not numbered but went through all ok. Nat west took wills away in back office to photocopy and remembered being worried they would detach pages to photocopy but again all good. If I ever have to do it again I would definitely insist on going with them to photocopier. Nat west also made us wait an hour before seeing us in branch.

poppystar

My Will drawn up by solicitor is stapled and has a little cover over the stapled corner - presumably so it is clear that no tampering has occurred. Having paid handsomely for it I (or rather my executors!) would be very annoyed if this was not a valid Will. As long as no one unstaples and restaples there should be no problem.

If the Will runs to several pages what is the safer alternative? Surely any ‘scheming relative’ could just as easily claim a single loose sheet of a Will has been changed?

RAS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81912007#Comment_81912007

Do not remove the staples.

And we've had reported at least one will challenged by probate because it wasn't stapled, and another because staples had been removed for photocopying.

As far as I know, there is no legal definition of how a physical will has to be presented. There are strict rules on signing and witnessing

What causes problems is when there is evidence or the possibility of tampering. A lot of wills done during Covid were printed at home and then signed and witnessed. Many of these won't be stapled and it will be interesting to see how that pans out, over the next 50 years.