The following case study outlines just how important it is to use a Certainty [1] Will Search. Thousands of solicitors now make no assumptions or prejudgment surrounding the existence of a Will or which is the last Will. They simply include Certainty Will Search as part of their process to either find an unknown or undisclosed Will or prove that a Will does not exist or that the Will they are using to distribute the estate is the last Will.
Glanvilles Damant is an established firm of solicitors based on the Isle of Wight who offer the highest standards of professional help and advice and are members of Certainty the National Will Register.
April Newton, Glanvilles Damant comments: “When the family of the deceased approached us, the case first appeared to be an intestacy matter. As more background information came to light regarding the case and the ‘intestacy’, we decided to conduct a Certainty Will Search as a safeguard. An unregistered 1986 Will came to light with a firm based near to where the deceased had lived, which disclosed provisions that had been made for step-children, something that would not have been considered if the estate had been intestate. On this occasion although we unfortunately did not receive the probate work, by conducting a Certainty Will Search we took the steps required to ensure that the estate was distributed correctly, preventing the rectification of distribution issues at a later date if this Will subsequently came to light.”
The Will was found through a Certainty Will Search at Derrick Bridges & Co, solicitors and notaries based in Hertfordshire. Rory Thorpe, Partner comments: “After checking our records using the details provided in the Certainty Will Search Notification, we were able to confirm that we held a Will for the deceased dated 1986. From that, we were able to contact the named executor of the Will, who then instructed us to help administer the estate; ultimately winning us the probate work.”
Every day Certainty Will Search prevents a myriad of issues occurring because the appropriate search was undertaken to identify if a Will or later Will exists. Conversely every day estates are distributed incorrectly because a search was not undertaken.
Contact the Certainty Will Search Team to find out how a small disbursement can prevent issues, or a Will going unnoticed, as would have happened in the above if the search had not been undertaken, to ensure that you have taken all the steps available as a solicitor to distribute the estate correctly.
For further information on Will registration and the types of searches you can carry out please contact us on 0330 100 3660 or email enquiries@certainty.co.uk [2].