Throughout May, The National Will Register are holding their annual Free Will Registration Month which runs from Tuesday 4th May until Friday 4th June.
In 2020, the legal profession saw a sharp increase in the number of Wills being made. One of the many effects of the outbreak that Covid-19 had was that many members of the public were faced with addressing their mortality and whom they would wish to inherit their estate after they had passed away.
Registering your clients’ Wills on The National Will Register ensures that they can be quickly and easily located by the testator’s named executors and beneficiaries. During the pandemic, The National Will Register saw an increase in the number of Wills being registered by the public, solicitors, and Will writers as well as those searching for a Will.
For over a decade, The National Will Register has built a significant National Will Register and Will Search service that protects law firms, testators, executors and beneficiaries each and every day. Thousands of solicitors and Will writers use The National Will Register, ranging from sole practitioners to over 50% of the Legal 500 and the majority of the most respected firms in the country.
There are now over 8.9 million Will registrations on the system which continues to rise on a daily basis, thanks to law firms and their clients who recognise the benefits of Will Registration. Registering a client’s Will not only protects against the incorrect distribution of an estate, and the issues that surround an unknown Will coming to light, but also the loss of probate work because the Will and the law firm that wrote and stored it are unknown to the executors and beneficiaries.
Taylor Haldane Barlex has registered their Will Bank. Carly Dartnell, Associate Solicitor and Head of Private Client comments: “When we joined The National Will Register as members at the start of 2019, we understood the importance of ensuring all of our existing Wills held at the firm were easy to locate in the future. This was easily achieved by registering our Will Bank on The National Will Register as it ensured that we will be notified when a client has passed away and that their Will is being searched for. The team at The National Will Register made this process straightforward by providing guidance on the registration process and answered any questions we had. Will Registration is now part of our Will writing process and all of the Wills we write are registered on The National Will Register on a monthly basis to ensure that no Will is missed.”
“We decided to register our Will Bank and continue to register our clients’ Wills for a number of reasons. The National Will Register is a trusted partner of The Law Society of England and Wales, this provides reassurance to myself and the firm that we are conducting best practice and following guidance. It also ensures that all of our Wills held at our several offices located in Essex, East Anglia, Suffolk and Norfolk are registered in one place, making it easier for families who are searching for a loved ones Will to have a starting point for launching a search to save them (and us as professionals) time such as contacting local solicitors that the deceased may have used.”
This month, from Tuesday 4th May until Friday 4th 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.
