What is will storage and retrieval?

As part of our ongoing support to our clients, we offer a wills storage facility, free of charge, in our secure archive. You can retrieve your will at any point to review it, amend it or destroy it.

To retrieve your will, please complete our document request form (we do not accept email requests) with the following information:

• Your full name, postal address and contact telephone number
• A formal request for your will(s) to be returned to you
• Whether your will was initially made and stored with one of our legacy firms, and if so, which one

Once we receive your request our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible. Below details the process our team will follow, once your request has been reviewed.

• Our team will provide you with a unique reference number for your request
• The team will request a certified copy photo ID e.g. passport or driving licence
• The team will request original or certified copy proof of address, such as a utility bill, council tax bill, bank statement etc, confirming your name and address and dated within the last three months

Where is my will stored?

Whether you have written your will with one of our solicitors or with one of our legacy firms below, your will is stored centrally and securely in our will storage facility. The legacy firms include (this is not exhaustive):

• Walker Smith Way
• Pannone
• Fentons (certain branches only)
• Russell, Jones & Walker
• Leo Abse & Cohen
• Goodmans
• Marrons

How do I retrieve a will as an executor or administrator?

We can only release the will of a person who has passed away to the executor or administrator of their estate. To retrieve the will, please complete our document request form (we do not accept email requests) requesting the release of the will and providing the following information:

• Your full name, postal address and contact telephone number
• An original death certificate
• Whether the will was made with one of our legacy firms, and if so, which one

Once we receive your request our team will be in touch with you as soon as possible. Below details the process our team will follow, once your request has been reviewed.

• Our team will provide you with a unique reference number for your request
• The team will request a certified copy photo ID e.g. passport or driving licence
• The team will request original or certified copy proof of address, such as a utility bill, council tax bill, bank statement etc, confirming your name and address and dated within the last three months

Why do we need this information?

We value your privacy and keep your will safe and secure. If someone requests to see your will, we will conduct a background check to ensure this person is entitled to retrieve your will. This is why we need the information mentioned above.

What are the benefits of storing your will?

Storing your will with us will give you peace of mind that it’s secure and can be easily found when the time is right. It means that you don’t need to worry about it being lost or stolen, and as solicitors, we are regulated so if ever something were to happen to your will then you would have the right to recourse.

I am named executor of my parents' wills - can I see it before they die?

If your parents want to show you their will, they have to retrieve it themselves. They then can show and explain it to you. As long as the person who made the will is alive, executors or administrators can't usually retrieve the will themselves.

We store other documents which are dealt with by our Document Retrievals Team, such as:

• Lasting Powers of Attorney/Enduring Powers of Attorney
• Settlements
• Trust Deeds
• Title Deeds

How do I retrieve a will?

Should you wish to retrieve any of the listed documents above, please complete our document request form and our team will confirm the appropriate release procedure to you. This may differ from the wills procedure.

In particular, if the person who made the will no longer has mental capacity and now has a court-appointed Deputy or someone with Lasting Power of Attorney acting for them, the Deputy or Attorney can in certain situations request a copy of the person's will. To release a copy will, we would need to see either an original or certified copy Deputyship Order or an original or certified copy registered Lasting Power of Attorney for Financial Affairs plus a medical certificate confirming the person's loss of capacity.

We would not usually release the original will to a Deputy or Attorney.

Storing your will with Slater and Gordon

If you're wondering how to store and retrieve your will at a later date, our team are here to help. Our solicitors are experts in will storage, for more information contact us to speak to a member of our team.