Often when solicitors are drawing up your Will they will retain the principal Will for safe keeping and forward a copy of the signed Will to you to be kept alongside your personal papers. However, it is important that your family members are able to locate your principal Will when you are no longer here as it is the principal that must be relied on when administering your estate.

If only a copy of your Will can be located, Scots Law does not consider this copy to be ‘self-proving’ and further evidence is required to confirm that the copy Will was your last Will and testament and that it should be treated as if it was your principal Will. This involves making an application to the court and the Sheriff will use their discretion to satisfy themselves that the signature on the Will was in your usual signature before deciding whether or not the copy Will can be “set up” and treated as though it were your principal Will. This can cause a delay in the administration of your estate and can become an expensive process which can be stressful for your loved ones.

Today an increasing number of firms are merging with other law firms due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and some law firms have been forced to close their doors. In instances where mergers occur with other law firms, often documents, including Wills, can going missing when paperwork is being transferred over by way of human error.

If it has been a while since you last considered the terms of your Will or were in touch with the law firm that drew up your Will, it is important to touch base with them to ensure they still hold your Will and it is able to be located.

It may be helpful to discuss with your family where your principal Will is stored or to keep along with your Will a note to this effect so that when your family members require to obtain your principal Will, it can be easily located and is one less thing for them to worry about.

Should you hold your principal Will at home, we always recommend to our clients that they store this in a safe place.The effect of not being able to locate your principal Will, or even a copy of it, will mean that your estate will be governed by the Law of Intestate Succession which may result in family members benefitting from your estate that you did not want to benefit.

It may be that in the past more than one firm of solicitors had acted for you for different matters, and we find that an increasing number of our clients are now moving all their personal documents, including their Will, to firms closer to home so they can all be stored safely together, locally. If this is something you would like to do, or should you wish to discuss this topic further, please be in contact with our Private Client Team who shall be able to advise you in relation to your Will and all other personal matters today.