Will storage

We once used a cheaper option which a Building Society recommended.
When we arrived for our appointment it was rep the same young man we saw when we were dealing with outer Building Society Account.
He really didn't have a clue.
Then we did what we should have done in the first place.
We went to a Solicitor .
Our Wills are stored there and we have copies at home too.
You tend to get what you pay for.

Having said that ,if you copies at home and spare copies with your children if you wish ,that should be good enough.

The original is stored at the solicitors l used, to actually draw up the will. This costs nothing. No solicitor l have ever used made a charge for storing the original Will.
I asked for two copies. One for myself and one to give to my 1st executor. No charge for these either, all part of the service.

We haven't made one yet. I suppose we should. But I wouldn't pay someone to store it for me.

Ours is in DS's safe and we have a copy. I don't think it matters much as long as the people who will need to see it know where the original is.

I keep a spreadsheet of where our money is and all the paperwork is filed and labelled. I have written a list of practicalities to be done which includes a few things I would like done at my funeral.

We have the copy of ours in our fireproof safe at home, and the original is at the public notary, which is common here, so it cannot disappear, as when one of us dies and the death is registred the will automatically appears on the state computer, or rather the fact that there is one does.

I had mine done with a solicitor and they have a copy stored with them but there's no charge.

mines in my document folder.

Mine is a very straightforward will and is kept in a pink box with smiley faces on and the slogan “when I snuff it” Also have my insurance and a few other things in that box. I did have a solicitor will which cost me £176 but with all the jargon I just didn’t like it so bought one for £9.99 from Smiths and did it myself as I say it is quite straightforward and my three children are aware of where this box is...??

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Will writing services are cheap because they rely on people using their storage facilities to make their money. Mine is at home byt the way.

I need to update my will as I haven't changed it since my divorce. The current one is stored with the solicitor who drafted it and there is no charge. I have a copy in a metal 'home file'.

We have ours stored at the solicitors (no charge )with a copy safely kept at home. On the subject of storage, where do people keep their house deeds after paying off the mortgage?

Did our own via an online service. Now stored in metal cabinet along with POA original which must be registered. Copies to Attorneys.

Is the will you did at the will writing service the same as a will done at a solicitors ? Hopefully your will won’t ever be challenged but if it were would your will prove to be legal ?

We got ours at home hidden away safely, and a copy with the solicitor that did it

Mine is in a simple box file here at home and beneficiaries each have a copy. Sorted.

I had mine done by a solicitor. My daughter, only executor and beneficiary, has a copy and the solicitor is storing the original.

Your Will is the most important document you will ever sign, and I would not entrust it to anyone other than a local solicitor and certainly not a company who want £35 a year for storage. A Will has to be so carefully worded and the slightest error could result in your wishes being misinterpreted or even challenged. Your decision, of course, but I would be inclined to have the Wills re-drawn by a solicitor - off-set the cost against what you are being asked to pay for storage which I think is a bit of a con. I have never heard of a solicitor charging for this.

My Will is with my solicitor, ..copy in filing cabinet. Daughter (sole beneficiary and executor) knows where it is.

my will was written by a solicitor for £100 and is stored by them for free. I keep a copy in my `dying tidy` pack

Please, please, please make sure that somebody knows where a copy of your will is, especially if stored at a solicitors. Alternatively register your Will with www.nationalwillregister.co.uk.

We had a situation where someone died which we didn't know until their house was put on the market and we enquired at the estate agents because we thought they had gone into a home. We knew he had made a will leaving everything to my husband or his mother if she was still alive. The Government Dept dealing with intestate estates had not asked the 2 local solicitors if a will existed and there wasn't a copy in the house. They charged an extortionate amount for their lack of service even though the first solicitor I rang had a copy! Heir Hunters had noted that there was an estate so had contacted estranged family and they had charged a fortune along with an expensive solicitor instructed by the family who had spent quite a lot of the realisable money. The family then threatened to sue us for the time they had wasted for sorting things out!

What if the solicitor retires or goes out off business
What happens then ?

We did ours last year and the solicitor keeps it at their office as part of the service. There is no annual charge so I think you need to look at that.

i think this whole subject needs to be up-dated.
there should be a central registry where every will is stored.
then copies could be kept wherever desired.
the present system relies on honesty and being well organised.
suppose aged person dies and leaves total estate to cats' home.
distant cousin creeps out of the woodwork and goes through the house. is next of kin. finds will. reads it and burns it in the grate. claims estate, acc rules of intestacy.
there may be a will somewhere lodged with a solicitor. or not. how would solicitor know person has died.
it should be a rule that all wills are lodged with a probate registry, could be done electronically.
then no one could conveniently fail to find one in house.

I don’t understand.

If You make a will with a solicitor, they keep the original and you have a copy. At least that’s what I’ve done.

You pay for the service and there is no extra charge for storage as it’s in a safe place anyway.

yes but that only works if the beneficiaries know when the person dies and where the will is.
and that they are beneficiaries.
read my example above.
i presume it is my point that you say you don't understand.