Signed will

mills112

My FIL had a will done with the co-op in September, which involved a video meeting with a co-op advisor to go through his wishes, which he had already input online in the application process.

After the call, which was also used to ascertain his capacity in some minimal way as the advisor said he would not be able to proceed if he thought that my FIL didn't have capacity to write a will. The video call was one to one and I was not allowed to be present during the call.

The will was written up by the Co-op and they sent the draft to my FIL to review. When that was fine, they sent the final will for him to sign and get two independent witnessess, which he did, being the couple next door, his neighbours.

The co-op has asked that he sends them the original will so they can check that the signatures have been done correctly. We sent back a scan of the will as my FIL told them he wanted to keep the original instead of the co-op keeping the original, which is their standard process.

They wrote back last week and said that they can't check the scan as

"we are unable to confirm the valitidity of the original document as we also check for any marks, the same colour ink, and the paper on which the document has been printed. In our experience, these may lead to delays with the probate registry."

Are they correct that the probabte office will be reverting to the co-op to check the validity of the will?

I am concerned that if my FIL sends them the original, they may lose it or may refuse or delay to return it because they want to keep it in order to charge for its release when it comes to probate. Do solicitors who keep your wills charge for their time in liasing with the probate solicitor? I am guessing they do and so this is why they offer this "vault" process as it means more money for them! May be I am a cynic.

user1977

Are they correct that the probate office will be reverting to the co-op to check the validity of the will?

Only if there's a problem - what they're saying is that they cannot give you full advice that the Will has been signed properly based on a scan.

silvercar

They could also be checking that nothing has been attached to the will after it has been copied.

You are within your rights to say you will carry the risk of them only checking the scan, but then if there is a small chance that their checking of the scan doesn't show up something that the scanning of the original would they won't be liable for the error.

"Do solicitors who keep your wills charge for their time in liasing with the probate solicitor? "

Why is there a probate solicitor? Better to name relatives as executors, who can choose to engage the services of a solicitor if they feel the need, rather than having a solicitor named as executor who will charge heavily.

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82196914#Comment_82196914

just a general question as to whether solicitors tend to charge for release of original kept wills when the time comes to ask them to release them.

Baldytyke88

It does sound a little OTT, but why not scan the will and you keep the copy?

mills112

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82196944#Comment_82196944

I am probably being OTT myself as my FIL had a will done and kept by the solicitors in the north of england before he moved down to the south of england this summer. When we asked the solicitors to release the original will, they said that he would have to go to their office up north, where the will is kept and show ID and proof of address or to instruct a solicitor to liaise with them to retrieve the will.

We had to get a new will made as it was cheaper than instructing a solicitor to retrieve the will and as that was done many years ago, it was worth doing a new will anyway.

So I don't want to end up in the same position with the co-op.