Press release

Wycombe Solicitors join National Will Register

12 March 2010

One of Wycombe’s longest established firms of solicitors, Reynolds Parry Jones, has joined the Certainty National Wills Register.

Partner Rod McCulloch said “It has long been accepted that a national wills register or database would be in the interests of consumers and lawyers alike and I for one am extremely pleased that we now have one. It is privately run but supported and endorsed by the Law Society.”

“A recently conducted survey found that more than two-thirds of people did not know where to find their parents’ Wills. Inevitably, in a proportion of these cases, the Will is never found meaning that, in effect, it never existed. The deceased will thus be deemed to have died intestate and their estate distributed, not as they intended, but according to the intestacy laws.”

“The Register has been established to prevent this happening. For each Will we draw up for clients they will have the opportunity to have it registered. This means that a bereaved person, unable to locate their relatives’ Will can initiate a search of the register. If the Will has been registered, its location (i.e. which solicitor holds the original copy) will be disclosed.”

Asked whether the system risked disclosure or exploitation by those intent on crime or fraud, Mr McCulloch said “The answer is No. In the first place, the register does not contain any information on the contents of the Will – it merely notes where the original Will is held, which could, of course, be anywhere in the country. Secondly, any enquiry from a relative or executor will be dealt with as we would deal with any such enquiry – we would practice due diligence and require proof of identity before releasing the Will.”

“We see the existence of a national register as very positive and beneficial” Mr McCulloch concluded “and we expect that in time, as its use grows it will prove invaluable in assisting the recovery of Wills which may well otherwise have been lost.”

There is a small one-off fee payable for each registration but, for a short time, Reynolds Parry Jones is offering a free registration to its existing Will clients.

For further information please contact Rod McCulloch on 01494 525941.