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When it comes to being organised and arranging your finances, writing a will is only half the job. It also needs to be stored safely, and its location shared with loved ones.
That’s because a missing will can create significant challenges for executors and beneficiaries alike, causing delays, uncertainty and potential disputes when families and loved ones are already coping with loss.
Here’s why the safe storage of a will matters and the various options at your disposal.
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A will that can’t be found can be as problematic as having no will at all.
But, according to the National Wills Report 2025 by the National Will Register, nearly a third of people (29%) with a will have not told anyone where it is kept. What’s more, over half (51%) of the adults questioned for the study were unaware of where their parents' wills were stored.
A will only has legal effect if the original signed document can be produced after someone dies. Photocopies, scanned versions, or digital files usually aren’t enough to satisfy the probate process.
Simonne Llewellyn, managing director of Finders International, says: “Locating a will has become increasingly difficult. More people are living and dying alone, so fewer individuals know where documents are kept. At the same time, the Government no longer funds will searches for those who die alone, meaning estates that should go to beneficiaries risk passing to the Crown.”
When you make a will, there are various options about where to store it. So, which is the best storage option? Here are some common methods.
According to the National Wills Register, 43% of people with a will used a solicitor to write it. So, it can often make sense to store the will with the same law firm that drew up the document.
Many solicitors store wills for free or for a small annual fee, keeping them securely alongside other legal documents. This can be helpful as solicitors have reliable storage systems and, if they drafted the will, already understand its contents.
However, your family must know which firm holds your will, otherwise it could go undiscovered.
Jessica McDonnell, senior associate solicitor at Blythe Liggins Solicitors, says: “If a firm is closed down, the Solicitors Regulation Authority will take possession of the will and inform you of where it is now being held. This ensures that the document is safe and can be located by third parties if required.”
Another option is a specialist will storage company, such as National Will Safe. These services keep wills and other documents, such as lasting powers of attorney, in secure, fireproof and waterproof facilities. They offer 24-hour security and a national database to help executors locate documents.
The service comes at a cost. National Will Safe charges £45 a year, paid by direct debit.
In England and Wales, you can store your will with the HM Courts & Tribunals Service for a one-off fee of £23. In Scotland, wills can be stored with the Registers of Scotland through the Register of Deeds for £20.
For the one-off fee, the original document can be kept in “safe custody”. This means the will is sealed and held by the court until executors apply to retrieve it as part of the probate process.
According to the National Wills Register, 25% of people with a will store it at home. If they are properly installed, home safes can provide a good level of protection from fire and water damage.
However, accessibility is a common issue. If the safe is locked and no one knows the code or where to find the key, your executors could face difficulties accessing the will when they need it.
Jeremy Curtis, partner at Edwin Coe, says: “The riskier option is often simply leaving a will at home, where documents can be lost, destroyed accidentally, or overlooked. In fact, homes are one of the most common places wills go missing after someone dies. There are some real practical issues that arise when family members cannot locate the original document, delaying the whole probate process.”
In the past, bank safety deposit boxes were a popular option for storing wills. They offer strong physical security, but they can also create practical complications.
Jessica McDonnell says: “The cons are that sometimes banks will require probate before they allow the executor access to the safety deposit box, which can be a problem if the will is held within the box.”
She adds: “If the family of the deceased do not know about a particular bank account, they may never inform the bank of the death, and so the box will not be located. This could result in the estate being wrongly treated as an intestacy.”
When someone dies without leaving a valid will, their estate is referred to as being ‘intestate’.
Digital storage is becoming more popular, with services offering encrypted vaults for important documents. But there’s one big catch: a digital copy is not a legally valid will as probate authorities generally require the physical copy with the original signatures.
This means digital storage should be seen as a backup or signposting tool rather than the primary location.
You can choose the safest storage option in the world, but if your executors don’t know where the will is kept, it won’t be of any use.
So, it’s crucial to tell your executors the exact location of your original will. Give them the name of the solicitor or storage service holding it and share any essential access details such as a reference number.
It can also help to keep a note of the will’s location alongside other end-of-life planning information, such as funeral wishes and details of financial accounts.
The National Will Register is a UK database that records where a will is stored so it can be located after someone dies.
Rather than offering storage, the register is a confidential record of the document’s location. After a death, executors, solicitors, or family members can request a search to find out whether a will has been registered and where it’s held.
Lost wills are more common than you might think. A missing or inaccessible will is effectively the same as having no will. In England and Wales, if a will was known to exist but the original cannot be found, there is a legal presumption that the deceased may have deliberately destroyed it with the intention of revoking it.
Jeremy Curtis says: “In those situations, the court may presume the will was revoked, so those seeking to rely on it must produce strong evidence of its contents and demonstrate that it was not intentionally destroyed.
“This can involve witness testimony, earlier drafts or copies, and can lead to significant delay and dispute during the probate process.”
Let’s make sure you have the right plans in place for you and your loved ones.
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