National Will Register

[CYNthesys]

Has anyone used this will tracing service, anf if so are they any good

https://www.nationalwillregister.co.uk/

[enaid]

Re: National Will Register

They can only trace a will if it is registered with them and it states 5 million are.

[CYNthesys]

Re: National Will Register

enaid, it says-

The cost of the search is an allowable disbursement that can be reclaimed from the estate.
Certainty Will Searches are available at the following rates and can be carried out by any interested party:

• Register Will Search - Search for a registered Will: £33.33 +VAT
• Combined Will Search - Performs the above search and searches nationally for an unregistered Will: £90.00 +VAT
• Protect Will Search - Performs the above searches plus a Section 27 Notice: £199.00 +VAT

Which Certainty Will Search Should I Use?

Unless you have found a Certainty Will Registration Certificate then we recommend that you use the Will Search Combined.

[enaid]

Re: National Will Register

So they search for unregistered wills too by contacting will writers a sols. They wont trace those held by banks though or in your aunties 'little box of private papers' I don't think.

What Does a Certainty Will Search Do?

Certainty searches for Wills – whether you are checking to see if one was made or checking to see if you have the most up-to-date version. Certainty is more than just a register - we make it easy for you to search for a Will, even if it has not been registered. This is because we search for Wills kept by solicitors and Will Writers across the country, and search areas where the person who wrote the Will lived, worked or had other connections, hence the reason for making a Will elsewhere.
Certainty Will Search searches Certainty the National Will Register, accessing circa 5 million Will registrations, but also searches nationally for Wills that have not been registered by solicitors and Will Writers. In addition, a notification is placed on the Certainty Missing Will Notice Board which is accessed daily by 4,500 Certainty member solicitors.

[CYNthesys]

Re: National Will Register

Presumably they will check if a solicitor has made/prepared a will for the named person regardless of where it is being kept.? I would have thought that for starters the solicitors would just need to do a simple search of their database to find if the deceased person was a client, and the relevant area of law involved

[CYNthesys]

Re: National Will Register

Think I will email them for a definitive answer on this

[ostell]

Re: National Will Register

They state that a will will be registered when a solicitor receives a copy of the death certificate. Hello, there's a hole in that logic in that if the beneficiaries don't know about the solicitor and the will then how can they provide a copy of the death certificate to the solicitor.

[enaid]

Re: National Will Register

Wills that were held by sols that have gone out of business for whatever reason are held by the SRA.

[CYNthesys]

Re: National Will Register

Ostell, I read it as meaning you provide the will tracing organisation with the fee and a copy of the death certificate, then they do the rest