Storage & Security

The original versions of your Will are the only legally binding versions. Scans, photocopies and computer records are not legally valid because they don’t have your original signature. The original Will is your only Will and must be kept safely. An estimated 72% of UK adults stated to the Law Society that they would not know where to find their parents Will. Challenges to Wills are on the increase, and not having the original leads to disputes, challenges and extra costs.

The Risks of not professionally storing your document.

If your Will is not found, it is as though you have died Intestate (without a Will), or worse, your previous Will is activated.

Never store an original Will at home. If you have a fire, flood or burglary, you risk losing your Will. If your Will is damaged, then the courts could declare the Will invalid.

Even the most valid and robust wills are being challenged. Often by the spouse of a son or daughter who would like more than their entitlement. Imagine what they would do with the original copy of a Will if an older one or none served their interests better.

You must keep your Will safe; however, that place must be easily accessible when the document is needed!

Self-stored Wills are not insured.

Please consider that for a Will to be admissible at probate, it must be the ‘Last will’ with a ‘wet ink’ signature.

The Case Studies of Poor Storage

DIY: Mr. Adams had stored his will along with his other paperwork. Toward the end of his life, he received many visits from family members who came to say their goodbyes. Some of them helped clean the house and organise a few things. When he passed away, his son searched for the will, which he had seen just a few months prior. However, the will could not be found. As a result, Mr. Adams's previous will, written seven years earlier, became valid. This situation ultimately benefited another relative who had been kind enough to help clean Mr. Adams's house just weeks before his death.

Cut Price Will Writers Office: Peter wrote wills and saved money by avoiding costly memberships, qualifications, insurance, and storage fees. However, when he died unexpectedly, problems arose. His wife, who was in poor health, received weekly calls inquiring about the location of the client's wills. Over the years, Peter had stored thousands of wills in his downstairs toilet without any filing system or protection from fire, dampness, or water damage.

Solicitors Vaults: Professional storage space is costly, and it’s no surprise that compromises are sometimes made in this area. 

1) Mr and Mrs Arnold retrieved their will, only to discover that the bottom corners were damaged by silverfish, rendering it invalid for probate. 

2) An insolvency practitioner was taking inventory for a 112-year-old solicitor's practice. He inquired about the marks on the walls of the cold, damp cellar used to store wills and documents. He was informed that those marks were flood lines, indicating the height reached by occasional flooding. Notably, the watermark was above the 50 boxes of documents stored on the bottom shelves.

What if your Will is not stored professionally and is lost?

As we know, a Will takes effect on death, so it’s essential to keep it safe for when it’s needed. First and foremost, the executors/personal representatives must conduct an exhaustive search to try and find the original Will. Examples include:

• Speaking to family and friends
• Check with professional will writers and solicitors in the area to see if they were instructed and hold the Will
• Place an advert in the Law Society Gazette
• Contact a search organisation such as The National Will Register

What if a copy of the Will has been found but not the original? There may be instances where a family member finds a copy of the Will stored in the deceased’s home, but there’s no sight of the original. The question then arises as to whether the original Will has been revoked and this would effectively involve tracing the Will back.

If the Will was last known to be in the testator’s possession, a question would arise as to whether the Will was destroyed and, therefore, revoked unless there was evidence to the contrary. If there is no such evidence, a copy of the Will could not be admitted to probate, and therefore, the estate would pass in accordance with the laws of intestacy.

If the original Will can still not be found and is not traced back to the testator, the executors can attempt to prove a copy of the Will in place of the lost original under Rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987. This would involve applying to the probate registrar for permission to prove the copy Will by providing a written statement of the steps taken by the executors to locate the Will, details of anyone who would benefit from the estate if the copy Will is not proved and why there is a belief that the Will has not been destroyed with the intention to revoke it. This is to overcome the presumption that a Will has been revoked if it is missing at death and last known to be in the testator’s possession.

The statement would also need to include who would be left worse off if the copy Will was proved. In some instances, the probate registrar may also ask for a separate affidavit of due execution from the witnesses confirming that the original Will had been validly signed.

To prevent your personal representatives/executors from facing such a situation, it is important to inform them where your Will is kept, record details of where your Will is so that it can easily be located, or better still, have your Will stored professionally instead. There is a storage fee; however, it ensures your documents are kept safe. 

High-Value items.

For high-value items, such as gold and jewellery, we offer a state-of-the-art 24-hour guarded vault box. (Think Mission Impossible!) For very high-value storage, we offer a security escort door-to-door service. We meet you at a place of your choosing, and a professionally trained Security Officer will escort you to ensure you and your items are safe and that you are not followed.

The Fern Wills & LPAs Solution 

We always strongly recommend using The National Will Safe Document Storage facility. It is a unique national, central storage facility for Wills that overcomes the problems of safely caring for important legal documents, providing you with peace of mind and a sense of security. 

🌿Your Will and any other relevant legal documents, such as Powers of Attorney, are kept in a waterproof wallet in a specialist document archive facility.

🌿The documents are also stored digitally; therefore if anything happens to your documents, they will be recreated and replaced for you, free of charge. 

🌿While your documents are with National Will Safe, they are fully insured against loss or damage. In the improbable event your documents are lost or damaged when they are needed, they are insured for up to £2 million to compensate anyone who loses out or incurs costs due to the lack of a legally binding document.

🌿National Will Safe provides plastic identity cards for you and your Executors. They display your name, a unique storage reference number and our contact details. Fern Wills & Trusts offer to contact all your executors to explain their duties and answer their questions.

🌿You can access your documents at any time—free of charge. The documents can be returned to Fern Wills & Trusts or directly to you using an insured delivery service, making the process convenient and comfortable for you. When you are finished with them, they can be returned to the Will Safe.

🌿When your Executors need to access your Will, they need only provide National Will Safe with a death certificate and proof of their identity. They will then send your Will to them free of charge using a secure, next-day delivery service.

🌿When you store your Will with National Will Safe, it is also registered with the National Will Register. This means that your Will is safe and secure and can also be found when you have passed on if a Certainty Will Search is undertaken.

🌿Always inform your executors where your Will is to be found.

Examples of documents to store 

• Last Will & Testament
• Foreign Wills
• Codicil       
• LPA/EPA* 
• Advance Directive
• Tenancy Severance
• Property Deed
• Land registry
• Photos of jewellery or gifts mentioned in the Will
• Declaration of Trust Exclusion
• Trust Documents
• Memo/Letter/Statement/expression of Wishes 
• Family Provision Claimant Form 
• Insurance Details/Policy
• Business Articles of Association
• Letters to Children/Trustees/Executors
• Minutes of Meeting
• Professional Qualifications
• Old love letters that you don't want to be lost (or found!)
• Sealed Envelopes 
• Other Documents

Additional Benefits of Professional Storage

A professional Will storage company often offers more than just the physical housing of your Will. Many provide services that protect your will and make it easy for your executor to retrieve your will while protecting your interests. For example, by only releasing the Will upon receipt of a copy of your death certificate and only once the executor proves their identity. So, let us assess the risks of home storage and how professional storage handles these problems:

• Fire Prevention
• Flood Prevention
• Restricted access, only released to you or authorised persons
• Secured building
• Safely filed away for when either you or your executors require it

Some storage providers provide even further services. We are partnered with National Will Safe (NWS), which keeps digital records any time a will is withdrawn or deposited in storage and provides ID cards for those who are authorised to access the Will. The NWS also registers all Wills entering their storage with The National Will Register, making it easier for your family to locate your Will after your death.