Why the original matters - not a copy
The Probate Registry requires the original Will - the document physically signed by the testator and their witnesses - when an application for a Grant of Probate is made. A photocopy, a scan, or a photograph of the Will is not accepted as a substitute. If the original cannot be produced, the estate may have to proceed on intestacy, as if no Will existed at all.
This is not a technicality that can be worked around with a good explanation. It is a fundamental requirement of the probate process. The original Will is the legal document. Everything else is evidence of what it once said - and evidence, in this context, is not enough.
If your executor cannot produce the original Will, the Probate Registry will treat your estate as intestate. Your carefully considered wishes become legally irrelevant - not because you failed to make a Will, but because the Will could not be found.
Common storage mistakes
A drawer at home
A home is not a secure storage environment for a legal document intended to survive decades. House fires, floods, burglaries, and routine clearing of papers after a death all create risk. A Will in a kitchen drawer or a bedroom filing cabinet may well survive - but it also may not. The stakes are too high to rely on chance.
With an inactive or dissolved solicitor
Many clients made a Will twenty years ago with a firm of solicitors that has since merged, been absorbed, or ceased to trade. The Will may have been transferred to a successor firm - or it may not. Tracing the original through a series of firm mergers is time-consuming, stressful, and not always successful. A Will held by a practice that no longer exists in recognisable form is effectively lost until proved otherwise.
Only you know where it is
The entire purpose of a Will is to operate after your death - which means its location must be known to people other than you. A Will stored in a place only you knew about is indistinguishable from a Will that was never made. Your executor cannot find it; the Probate Registry cannot receive it; your beneficiaries cannot benefit from it.
Staple marks and interference
A Will that shows signs of having been stapled, unstapled, or otherwise physically interfered with raises questions at the Probate Registry. If a document was once attached to the Will and has been removed, the court may ask what it was and why it is no longer there. An unexplained gap in the staple marks of an original Will can delay probate and, in some cases, require a sworn statement explaining the interference. The original should be stored exactly as executed - ideally without any attachments.
What good storage looks like
Good storage has five characteristics. It is secure, known, accessible, independent, and registered.
- Secure. Protected from physical damage - fire, flood, damp, theft - for as long as the Will remains current. A domestic safe offers some protection; professional document storage offers considerably more.
- Known to your executor. The executor must know where the original Will is held and how to obtain it. This information should be communicated directly and recorded somewhere the executor can access after your death.
- Accessible when needed. The storage provider must have a clear process for releasing the Will on death - one that works for a grieving family operating under time pressure. A document locked in a bank safe deposit box to which only you had the key is not practically accessible.
- Independent of you. Storage that depends entirely on your continued involvement - a safe to which only you know the combination, a solicitor who holds documents informally - creates the same problem as home storage if you become incapacitated or die suddenly.
- Registered. Registration does not replace proper storage or prove that a Will is valid, but it can make it much easier for executors or family members to locate the original when it is needed.
National Willsafe: our preferred storage partner
Prime Wills uses National Willsafe as its preferred storage partner for original documents. National Willsafe provides professional, long-term secure storage for Wills and associated documents in purpose-built facilities with robust retrieval procedures.
When a client's documents are stored with National Willsafe, the executor receives clear instructions on how to request the documents - and National Willsafe has a defined process for responding promptly to a bereavement notification. There is no ambiguity about who holds the documents, how to reach them, or what is required to obtain release.
What we store alongside the Will
Where relevant, we store the following documents alongside the original Will:
- Lasting Powers of Attorney. The original registered LPA documents, which attorneys will need to produce to banks, medical providers, and other institutions.
- Letter of wishes. The informal document explaining the reasoning behind key decisions in the Will - invaluable for executors trying to understand the deceased's intentions.
- Key contacts summary. A simple document recording the names and contact details of the executor, attorneys, solicitor, financial adviser, and any other parties relevant to administering the estate. This alone can save hours of searching at the worst possible time.
Registration on the Certainty National Will Register
We register every Will we draft on the Certainty National Will Register as a matter of course. Registration records the existence of the Will - not its contents - along with the name of the person who made it, the date it was made, and where the original is held.
When a client dies, their executor or a solicitor acting on the estate's behalf can conduct a Will search with Certainty. The search returns details of any registered Will, allowing the executor to contact the storage holder and obtain the original. Without registration, the executor must search without any map - relying on the deceased's papers, their memory of conversations, and a degree of luck.
What happens when a client dies
When we are notified that a client has died - whether by the executor, a family member, or a solicitor - we take a straightforward sequence of steps. We verify the death, contact the executor named in the Will, and arrange for the original documents to be released to the executor or their solicitor as required for the probate application.
We also check our records at this point: has the Will been updated since it was made? Are the LPAs still the current registered versions? Is there a letter of wishes that the executor should see? A complete picture, assembled in one place, means the executor can focus on administering the estate - not on locating its legal foundation.
Storage is not an afterthought. It is the final step that makes everything else work.
The information in our guides is provided for general information only and is not a substitute for advice based on your individual circumstances.
Wills, trusts, inheritance tax, Lasting Powers of Attorney and estate planning can be complex, and the right approach will depend on your family, finances, assets and wishes. Laws, tax rules, allowances and guidance can also change over time.
You should not act, or decide not to act, solely on the basis of the information in these guides. Where appropriate, you should obtain personalised legal, financial or tax advice before making any decisions.
Reading a guide or completing the Family Risk Review does not create a client relationship with Prime Wills & Estate Planning.