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Orchard Wills Storage

Orchard Wills Storage Plans

The Society of Willwriters, one of the largest independent Will and Deed depositories, offers clients of Orchard Press a first class storage facility to keep your documents safe.

Did you know that:

This is one of the most important documents you will personally own.
You cannot afford to lose the original.
The Will must be kept in pristine condition, any signs of wear and tear could invalidate it.

What does our storage facility offer for a one off all inclusive fee?

The wills are stored in a vault free from fire, flood, theft and being tampered with.
Annual contact from us ensuring your wills are kept up to date.

Why Should I Store my Will Safely?

The decision on how and where to store your Will is as important as the initial decision you made to instruct your Will and wishes to be written in the first place and it is a decision that you should not delay in making.
There are number of reasons why you should store your Wills, Trusts and any other relevant important Estate Planning documents, for example :
  • Protection From Fire or Flood Damage
  • Protection From Theft
  • Nominating A Specific Place Your Executors Can Quickly Access Your Will
It is very important to protect your Will for all of the above reasons, after all you have invested both your time and money professionally creating legal documents to ensure your family and loved ones are provided for in the event of your death.

Even if money is of no object and you would be happy to pay once more, I doubt you would really want to keep revisiting such an emotive subject as death planning unless you had to because of major changes in your circumstances or future wishes.

Where Can I Store my Will?

At Home
Storing your Will at home is only a good idea if you have a storage facility such as a safe that will protect documents from fire, flood and theft. If you choose this option make sure tell your executors how to access the safe.

With An Estate Planning Company or Solicitor
Often people choose to store their will with the original Estate Planning Company or Solicitor that they made the Will with. If you want to store your Will with a Solicitor ask them how much they will charge for storage and whether the charge is a one off or annual fee.

The High Court Principle Probate Registry
You can store your Will with the Ministry of justice High Court who will store it at their Principle Probate Registry through Orchard Wills, for a one time fee of £30.

With your Bank
Many banks offer a secure safety deposit box service for valuable chattels and documents for a yearly fee. However it is very important to ensure that you have also granted your Executors access to the deposit box where your Will is stored.

This is because in the event of your death, if you were the only person with access your Executors would not be able to obtain your original Will document and commence probate.

Summary

Wherever you choose to store your Will, ensure that your Executors are always aware of where and how to access it. If you store it with your Solicitor or a firm specialising in secure document storage you should be provided with a storage certificate that you can give to your executors, allowing them to quickly access the document.