[1]Law firms have until Friday 4 June to express their interest in registering their clients’ wills and existing will bank on The National Will Register [2] at no cost.
The National Will Register provides will registration and a will search service that protects law firms, testators, executors and beneficiaries each and every day. There are over 8.9 million wills registered in the system which continues to grow daily, thanks to law firms and their clients registering wills to avoid complications following a death.
The National Will Register provides future clarity that a will exists and identifies the last will to avoid distribution using an old will that has been superseded.
In 2020, 20% of estates that used a Certainty will search prior to distribution found an unknown will. The search prevented incorrect estate distribution, either by locating a later will which revoked the will being used or the estate was believed to be intestate and a will existed.
Mander Hadley, a firm located in Coventry and Kenilworth has incorporated will registration into their will writing process. David Webb, Head of Wills, Probate and Older Client Services at Mander Hadley comments: “Virtually everyone to whom we explain about The National Will Register is very happy to allow the details of their will to be registered because there is no disadvantage in doing so and access to this facility is a reason to use our will preparation services as opposed to the firm next door. It is added value. From our perspective the registration process is fast and slick; we have found it user-friendly.”
Will registration offers a variety of benefits to yourself, your firm and your clients:
- It’s an added value for you and your client: Will registration would cost your client £30 to do it themselves. Registering your clients’ wills during free will registration month adds additional value to the service you provide.
- Risk management: It is impossible for a law firm to track a client’s mortality in real-time, however by registering a will, you have put reasonable measures in place to uphold the repatriation of a will after the testator’s death to the executors. Therefore, reducing the risk of the wrong will being used to distribute an estate.
- The passage of time: Executors and beneficiaries may not be able to recall where the testator’s will is stored, or even forget that one exists. If the Will is registered, the executors have the ability to check the register and be repatriated with the will following the testator’s death.
- Receive more probate work: Will registration is conclusively proven to increase the amount of probate work you receive from the wills you have written. This is because the will is not overlooked and can quickly and easily be traced after a death. The highest reported amount of additional probate work received in a year, due to wills being registered by a single firm, was 86 probates. The firm stated that if their wills had not been registered, then they would not have won the probate work (in the majority of cases, they would not have known their clients had died!)
Free will registration month is running until Friday 4 June, you can register your clients’ wills that were made prior to May 2021 and your existing will bank for free on The National Will Register. To express your interest and to begin registering your clients’ wills, call 0330 100 3660 or email enquiries@certainty.co.uk [3]