wills

[Pudcat]

is it possible to make a "secret" will

[buildersmate]

Yes but it is somewhat pointless since if it is secret, those left behind left after one dies will not find it, so won't be able to act on it.

[Hymie]

You could get a solicitor to write a Will for you and supply the required witnesses such that only they knew that the Will had been written.

However, if on your death no one knows of this Wills existence – it could not be acted upon. So even though the Will’s contents are secret, you must somehow ensure its existence is known to those who would act on the Will.

[Gizmonster]

Depends what you mean by a secret will. If you mean that only you know about it - I suppose the answer is yes, if you're careful.
I recently made a will and all I got was a letter from the solicitor, with the draft copy of the will, which I then had to go down and sign. A few days after signing, I received a copy of the will itself, so I can't see why you couldn't do it. You'd just have to make sure that if anything happened to you, you'd left something that would let people know that you'd made a will (or recently changed one) and where the will itself was being kept.

[ladybirder]

Who are you trying to keep it secret from?

[Gizmonster]

.... it wouldn't be a secret then ladybirder would it :)

[jackthehat]

Or do you mean one that will not ultimately be made available to the public, as they all are......where you can will 'things' (money?) to beneficiaries without the tiresome details of it having to come to the notice of the authorities?

[dzug2]

The contents of your will are secret to you during your lifetime - your witnesses do not have to know its contents, just see you sign it..

Following your death they are secret to your executors unless they choose to tell others.

After probate it's a public document - anybody can get a copy

As others have said, if the <<existence>> of the will is secret, no one can act on it and it's a waste of time

[grffindoor2011]

What I think you mean is make a will that only certain members of your family know about. Or a separate one which enables you to give money to certain people that others will not find out about.

ie a stash of money you have is paid to an auntie under a separate will you don't want your husband to know about. Or money left to a charity that is hidden from your family.

I guess you could have two separate wills with two different solicitors. The main one where money goes to those who are expecting it then the secret one which assuming my example is used are then contacted by the other solicitor to say money has been left to them? I don't know the legalities of that.

[dzug2]

Most wills contain a clause cancelling any earlier wills. If they don't, they are still legal but expect a right royal legal battle about which if any is really valid

They would have to be presented (or at least declared) to the Probate Office together

[atalanta]

If you leave two different wills without declaring on one of them that the other is no longer in force, you will probably be declared intestate, and treated as if you had no will at all. I know of a case where this has happened.

[Barmaid]

Yes you can. Whilst the will itself is not secret, you can use a fully secret or half secret trust within the Will which is not publicly accessible.

Thus you make a Will, include a trust within it and say that your trustees have been made aware of your wishes. So the will will only reveal the executors/trustees but the dispositions will remain secret between you and the trustees.