When the grandson’s beloved grandmother sadly passed away this month, the grandson had to bring together her paperwork and systematically work through the next steps. But where was the Will? He could not find it in all of her personal paperwork, yet he knew one existed. In fact, she gave him a copy for safe keeping! Searching through his own paperwork, it became more and more apparent that his recent house move meant some documents had gone missing. Time was pressing on.
Knowing he needed to find the Will and respect his grandmother’s wishes, he turned to Certainty the National Will Register [1] and conducted a search. Thankfully, a match was instantly identified with a registered Will at the member firm, GA Solicitors, who were notified of the searcher and the deceased.
At the time of writing the grandson could not remember the contents of the Will, however his one wish is that his uncle is not mentioned as a beneficiary because of changes in family circumstances where the grandson claims he should therefore not inherit from his late grandmother’s estate.
Tony Pearce, Head of GA Solicitors contentious trust and probate team, is very familiar with situations such as this. “This is exactly why GA Solicitors are a member of Certainty the National Will Register. Professionals are aware that Will registration quickly and swiftly rectifies possible issues arising that would ultimately lead to estates being distributed incorrectly and the testators wishes not being fulfilled.”
Incidentally, Tony Pearce was the latest speaker for our popular Certainty Expert Webinar in January covering the well-received subject ‘A Day in the Life of a Contentious Probate Lawyer’. Disputes over the validity, interpretation or rectification of a Will or Trust, assistance in order to resolve problems relating to the administration of a trust or estate and issues involving mutual wills, secret trusts, proprietary estoppels or third party interests in property were just a few of the topics covered.
Since the found Will was signed, there have been changes in family relationships and therefore assumed beneficiaries, a house move of an Executor and the Testator passing away. These are normal, everyday events outside the knowledge and control of a solicitor, who would then typically become involved in the distribution of an estate. Searching for and finding the latest valid Will with Certainty the National Will Register is one of the first cost effective steps before the work required to distribute the estate correctly commences.
This is a recent and developing story.