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You have made a Will and have decided who you will all leave your worldly goods to. Before you relax and know that your afterlife wishes are covered, you may also want to consider a few of the practicalities that can sometimes be overlooked.

• Where Will I store it?
  

Legally, you can store the Will wherever you like. However if you don’t want to run the risk of Fido eating it or of accidentally throwing it out with last nights dinner, it might be best to consider storage options.

You can request that a Will writing service such as https://legaltips.co.uk/services/wills/ store it for you a fee of £20 (other Will writing services may differ). Some Solicitors firms will also offer the same.

You can lodge your Will with The Probate Service. They will store the Will for a fee of £20. For more  information, check the Probate service here :-https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/store-a-will-with-the-probate-service.

 If you decide to leave your Will in a bank safe deposit box, ensure you have let the Executor know where they will find a key or pin number to the box.

• Who needs to Know?
  

Wherever you store it, it is so important that you make your Executor aware of its location. Not knowing where a Will is stored causes needless complications and can potentially lead to your estate being distributed in a way that goes against your final wishes.

There are a growing number of Will registration services in the UK,  such as www.nationalwillregister.co.uk . A registration service such as this will have details of the date of your Will, the Executors and the location.. There is a flat fee for this service of around £30.

• What needs to be stored with it?
  

In order to give your wishes the best chance of being carried out swiftly and reducing stress for those concerned, once you have chosen the location of your Will, the following should be stored with it.

• Financial documents – A bank or building society statement will show the Direct Debits being paid out. The executor will see this and can contact the Companies being paid and cancel the debts, ensuring that no money leaves your Estate.
• Your prepaid funeral plans – Many of us are starting to use prepaid funeral companies such as https://www.coop.co.uk/funeralcare/funeral-plans .  Always inform the Executor of the details of the prepaid plan or even better, leave the documentation with the Will.
• Insurance Policies – Leave copies of all your insurance policies with the Will.. Life Insurance policies in particular should be stored alongside the Will. This will help the beneficiary obtain the payout more.
• Labelled sets of Keys– It’s hard enough knowing what our own keys are for, so imagine what it must be like searching through a bunch that is not your own That’s why it can save vast amounts of time getting a set of keys cut, labelling them and leaving with your Will.

Those are our Legaltips to ensure the safest final resting place of your Will. If you are thinking of writing your Will,  please do visit https://legaltips.co.uk/services/wills/  or contact us at here at Legal Tips  info@legaltips.co.uk .

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