By Legal Futures Associate Certainty The National Will Register
In this case study, Chris Taylor, Partner at KBL Solicitors explains a recent case where the deceased’s family was aware of a Will when she passed away but were unsure as to whether a later Will may have existed. Chris advised that a Certainty Will Search should be conducted to ensure that everything had been done to try and locate a later Will should one exist.
Chris comments: “In this particular case, the family of the deceased were aware of a Will that KBL Solicitors had written in December 1986. The deceased had moved several times and given the age of the Will, her family felt that there may have been a later Will. The family were all beneficiaries in this Will but wanted to ensure that everything had been done to locate the last Will and confirm that the estate was distributed in accordance to their family member’s last wishes.”
Chris advised his clients that a Certainty Will Search should be undertaken. A Will Search Combined was conducted which searches for Wills that have been registered on The National Will Register and for Wills that have not yet been registered.
Chris continues: “The Certainty Will Search confirmed that the last Will of the deceased was the one that we were in possession of. It provided my clients with reassurance and confidence that they held the last Will and could distribute the £826,000 estate correctly.”
“When faced with such circumstances such as in this case where you’re in possession of a Will that is over 30 years old and the deceased had moved around several times since writing it, a Certainty Will Search assists in confirming whether you are in fact in possession of the last Will and removes any uncertainty surrounding this. It also lowers the risk of claims against the estate at a later date as we can keep a Will Search Report on file to demonstrate that adequate measures were taken to locate a later Will.”
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, call 0330 100 3660 or email enquiries@certainty.co.uk.
