There are currently over 8.9 million wills registered on The National Will Register, which continues to rise daily. The National Will Register provides will registration and a will search service that protects law firms, testators, executors and beneficiaries each and every day.
Ewings & Co have been members of The National Will Register since 2016. Recently, Dympna Ewings, partner at the firm spoke to The National Will Register about the firms use of will registration and will search.
Dympna comments: “We register the majority of the wills written at the firm. When we write a will for a client, we provide them with information about will registration and its benefits so that they can make an informed decision. Most clients want to take advantage of this offering as it adds additional security that their will can be quickly and easily located in the future. We also register any wills that are stored at the firm and have registered our existing will bank.”
“The firm conduct Certainty will searches in both estate administration and Court of Protection matters when we do not know whether a will exists.”
“It is extremely useful to have the ability to conduct a Certainty will search when administering an estate. It helps to confirm the deceased died intestate when no will can be found. In cases where we are holding a will, it helps to confirm a later will has not been made by the deceased. It also saves the firm time contacting other local firms as the Certainty will search has the ability to not just search the register but in geographically targeted locations, ensuring that every possible firm and Will writer in the area has been contacted.”
“In regards to Court of Protection matters, when appointed deputy, a Certainty will search helps to identify whether the person, who is the subject of the order, has made a will. This can assist in making decisions in respect of the Person’s financial affairs including decisions as to whether a statutory will may be required in the person’s best interests.”
“In both types of matters, even if no will is found, it ensures that the fullest enquiries have been made that are possible in any given case. Once a Certainty will search has concluded, we are provided with a will search report that we can keep on file to demonstrate this.”
For further information on the type of searches you can carry out, please contact The National Will Register via their website, call 0330 100 3660 or email enquiries@certainty.co.uk.
