24th May 2017
Writing a will is one of the most important things you can do to provide for your loved ones after you have died. It is your opportunity to say who you want to inherit your money and property, and any personal possessions you have, and who you want to be responsible for making sure that your wishes are carried out.
However, as Stephen Myers at Myers & Co Solicitors in Stoke-on-Trent explains, it is also important to make sure that your will is kept safe and that the people close to you know where to find it.
“If your loved ones do not know whether you have made a will or, if you have, where it might be stored, it can be very difficult for them to find out whether a will exists. Enquiries will usually have to be made with any banks or building societies you had accounts with, and with any firms of solicitors or will writers you may have used. Your home will also typically be searched. Having to go through this process can be extremely wearing at an already distressing time”, says Stephen.
“On occasions, you may have decided to update an old will or to add a letter of wishes to it explaining certain gifts. Again, if your relatives do not know about this it can be very difficult for them to ensure your new wishes are respected”, Stephen adds.
At Myers & Co we appreciate that our clients need more from us than a great will writing service – they also need piece of mind that their will is kept safe and can easily be found. That is why, when you make your will with us, we will store your will for you free of charge and register it with the national wills register. By doing this, all your loved ones will need to do after you have died to find out if a will exists, and if so where it is held, is to make a search of the register.
Free wills storage and automatic registration is not something all solicitors offer but is something we choose to do for our clients for that added peace of mind.
If you would like to make a will or find out more about our free wills storage service, or for any other wills and probate enquiries, please contact Stephen Myers on 01782 577000 or email stephen.myers@myerssolicitors.co.uk
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.
