Will Writing Company Dissolved

[pussyfoot]

I wrote my will with a will writing company several years ago and had it stored with them for £3.99 a month.

I have just found out by chance when I tried to contact them that the company has since dissolved regardless of still taking the monthly fee.

I’m not really worried about the fee as the direct debit is now cancelled.

I do have a copy of the original will, but only the originally signed one is valid not the copy.

I know I can start over and make a new will elsewhere, but I’m reluctant to pay again when I thought I had everything put in order.

Is there any way I can find out if the documents have been transferred to another company?

I've never received a letter or an email as I'm aware of, unless anything went to the junk folder.

[albaqwerty]

Just a suggestion, Google their name if you know it. Results might throw up any newspaper articles about their status.

[barry1010]

You don't need to pay for a new Will as you are happy with the one you have.

Simply copy it word for word, print it and sign it in front of new witnesses.

Make sure you use the current date 

[THECORBYLOON]

I used this app the other day to copy text from an image,

https://www.imagetotext.info/

If you take an image of your will, paragraph by paragraph or page by page, you can upload the image(s) to that site, you can download the text and then copy and paste to a new document.

 

 

[pussyfoot]

Thank you all for your help, I thought I'd have to pay again. Ange

[barry1010]

Just a thought, if the company was regulated with the Solicitors Regulation Authority, contact them. Your Will must be somewhere.

Have you moved house since writing your Will?

[barry1010]

https://www.sra.org.uk/

[Canary42]

If you adopt Barry's suggestion (which I agree is probably the best) then you still have the issue of where to store it safely.

You could use a bank but I just checked their charges which are exorbitant (£20 a month) or store it safely yourself (but let your executor know).  

[Canary42]

By Barry's suggestion I refer to re-writing it yourself and getting it witnessed.

[Barquentine]

Barry is correct. Just photocopy your copy, but blank out your signature and the witness. Then get a witness to you signing it again - not a member of your family nor any of the beneficiaries. You can just keep it safely somewhere at home. It does not need to be stored elsewhere. 

One thought though - does the copy you have include a stamp saying 'Certified as a true copy'? If a solicitor signs and stamps a photocopy of the original as 'certified as a true copy' -then it is as good as the original -i.e. it is admissible in Court (or the Probate registry) as if it is the original.

[Hymie]

Within the early part of the Will should be the date on which you wrote the Will – but not necessarily the same date as you and the witnesses signed the Will.

 

If you do as suggested; copying it with the witnesses and your signature blanked off – and sign it again with new witnesses – you will have a Will that has a written date a number of years before it was signed and witnessed, which could be a reason for someone to dispute the validity of the Will.

 

Once you have your new Will properly signed and witnessed, I’m willing to store it for you (and any other pieces of paper you have) at £2/month per document.