By Legal Futures Associate Certainty The National Will Register [1]
It is not uncommon for family members to contact The National Will Register after a loved one has passed away after finding themselves in a situation where they are unsure of where the last Will of the deceased is located. A Certainty Will Search can assist and locates unknown or missing Wills every day.
In this case study, Graeme Black, Director at The National Will Register member firm Bonnetts Solicitors [2] discusses a case where the niece of the deceased was unsure who the executors of the estate were or if there was a later Will.
Graeme comments: “When the deceased passed away, the niece of the testator was unsure if there was a later Will and if there was, where it was stored. The deceased had no children and therefore, his niece was the closest relative to him. She was unaware of who the named executors were and wanted to ensure that her uncle’s estate was distributed correctly. She contacted The National Will Register and conducted a Certainty Will Search.”
“A 2017 Will was located at Bonnetts Solicitors which was on registered on The National Will Register. As the Will was registered, the searcher was contacted within 48 hours of the initial enquiry being received. The Will did affect how the estate needed to be distributed. For example, there was a new legacy for the sum of £10,000 named in the 2017 Will for a friend of the deceased.”
Graeme concludes: “The Certainty Will Search not only saved the deceased’s niece time due to the Will being quickly located on The National Will Register. It also ensured that the estate that exceeded £700,000 was distributed correctly and in line with the deceased’s last wishes. The new named beneficiary in the 2017 Will would not have received what was left to them without this later Will being located with a Certainty Will Search.”
For further information on the type of searches you can carry out or would like to register your clients’ Wills, please contact The National Will Register via their website [3], call 0330 100 3660 or email enquiries@certainty.co.uk [4].