The cost of storing a Will can range from GBP 20 to GBP 35 per month, depending on various factors.
Are you planning to store it yourself, entrust it to a solicitor, or perhaps a Will writer?
In this blog, we will delve into these variables to provide a better understanding of the costs involved.
If you have other valuables such as heirlooms and jewellery, a safety deposit box, costing around GBP 150 per year, might be an ideal choice for safeguarding all your precious items together.
“Why should I pay to store a Will?”
You know that your Will is a precious document, but did you know that, when the time comes, a Will that is not in good physical condition could be contested or rendered invalid?
Keeping your Will at home leaves it at risk of loss or damage from several sources, including flood, fire, environmental damage, and deterioration.
If a person dies intestate (without a Will) then you probably know that there is a ‘hierarchy of inheritance’. Essentially this means that your estate will be evenly split between your nearest surviving relatives and these might not be the people you wished to benefit. This is potentially the same if a Will is rendered invalid or contested.
A lot can go wrong when you keep your Will where it doesn’t belong. You have worked hard throughout your life and you want your wishes fulfilled when you die.
As they say, ‘Do not cast your pearls before swine’, in other words, don’t let one ‘greedy’ relative trample on your wishes!
Paying to store a Will has more advantages than not.
- You protect your Will against natural disasters such as fire and flood
- Only those people you trust will have access to it
- You protect it against common household microbes and electromagnetic charges that alter the original condition of the document
- Burglars in search of valuables may destroy your Will. A lesser risk if it is stored in a designated and serviced location
If securely storing a Will provides all these advantages, then how do you ensure you get the best out of the available Will storage locations?
Before we work out how much Will storage costs, you may take the following into account as they are common features of Will Storage
Will storage features and how they affect the price you pay to store your Will
- Free Will Update: What is your present familial situation? Are you single, in a relationship, married, or a foster parent? Your present situation will affect how often you update your Will. If you’re young and/or single, for example, a service that provides free Will updates accommodates many updates. For married couples with children or retirees with grandchildren, circumstances (aside from death) may not change and thus, a free Will update is not a priority in this instance.
- One-off Payment: What are the payment terms? Is there a one-off payment or an annual commitment? The one-off payment model costs less but will charge for each lodgment. This is a great Will storage location if you don’t expect to make many changes.
- Registered Will: Do you want your Will to be publicly available? A Will storage location with one-off payment registers your Will and will be publicly available – anyone can search to discover if you have a Will or not, even while you’re alive. Ideal if want a smooth probate service after you’ve gone.
A simple answer to the main question in this blog is that how much it costs to store a Will depends on where you’re storing it.
Below are some of the places people store Wills and how much they cost.
When a solicitor stores your Will
Solicitors would generally not charge to store a Will assuming they’ve written it for you.
A solicitor may store it for you using the National Will Safe storage service, which is part of the National Will Register. For this, they will charge you an annual fee of £20 for a single testator to £35 for couples.
Solicitors also partner with Will Storage Locations like Stonewall Vaults to store Wills on behalf of their customers.
Depending on each practice, solicitors would normally not charge to access your document, meaning you can pull your document for update and re-lodge it when done without additional fees.
When a Will Writer stores your Will
Will Writers who have little chance of additional work, such as probate may charge you a standard yearly fee from GBP 20 to GBP 35 to store your Will.
The terms and conditions are similar to solicitors albeit that Will Writers are not regulated, meaning you may not have recourse to the courts if your Will goes missing.
If in doubt, you should contact the National Will Safe to see if your Will Writer is registered with them or simply get a quote directly from the National Will Safe.
When you lodge it with the National Will Safe service
The National Will Register runs this service, a contact from the service said,
“99% of their business comes from Will writers and solicitors so they just want to know who wrote your Will to check if they already have an agreement in place with them. When there’s no agreement, they can quote a price for storing directly with them”.
This service differs on some fronts
- You get all the benefits as if stored with a Solicitor or Will Writer
- You are automatically registered in the National Will Register database. This means saving GBP 30 if you were to go on to register your Will autonomously
When lodged with the probate service
It costs a GBP 20 one-off fee to lodge your Will with the HM Tribunal and Court Services of the United Kingdom.
The benefit of using this service is the price, as it’s a flat fee. However, accessing your document involves a long process of up to 4 weeks, and you’re charged for each lodgement.
Going by the recommended Will update period of every 2 to 5 years means you will be paying GBP 20 every 2 to 5 years – a saving of one to five-fold every 2 to 5 years compared to earlier mentioned Will storage locations.
Perhaps the greatest advantage of using this service is that it becomes a public record – reducing the chance of misappropriation.
When you store your Will in a safety deposit box
Clearly, keeping it at home is free and, you can expect to pay anything from GBP 0 to GBP 150 annually when you’re storing your Will yourself in a safety deposit box.
This is how it works out:
- If you already have a safety deposit box lease from an independent provider: you simply store your Will alongside other items. Most people keep other estate documents and expensive jewellery in safety deposit boxes, which is perhaps a great cost-saving storage method.
- If you do not have a safety deposit box lease but have other keepsakes such as heirlooms, jewellery, estate documents, and other sentimental items: you may get a safety deposit box lease, and keep all these valuables together. Being the most expensive option, an A4 document-sized and 2-inch tall box in the UK varies from GBP 40 to GBP 200 annually. It does come with its perks! See the advantage of using a safety deposit box.
A safety deposit box is ideal if you have other documents and possessions that would benefit from an ambient temperature and environment.
It may not be as cost-effective should you only wish to store your Will, but the fact that a second person of your choice could have immediate access is a definite advantage.
Whatever your choice of storage it is a good idea to register the location of your Will with the National Will Register if you are in the UK, so it can be effortlessly found when the time comes.
There are many positives of using a safety deposit box for your Will storage needs
- Your beneficiaries know where to go and be able to obtain your Will without the need for jumping ‘legal hurdles’ to do so
- You have unlimited access to your box items
- You can rename your box in your trust
- You can have multiple users
- Many providers offer no tied contracts
- You can access your Will for updates whenever you want
- Up to 18 hours per day/every day of the week access
When you store your Will with Stonewall Vaults Will Storage
You pay £20/month only to store your Will with us
This comes with best-in-class Will storage security, and email correspondence to your beneficiaries so they know where you’re keeping your Will.
FAQs about how much does it cost to store a Will
Do solicitors charge for storing Wills?
Yes. You should expect to pay from GBP 40 yearly fee when a solicitor has not written your Will. Otherwise, you may get heavily subsidised or even free storage.
Do solicitors charge to release a Will?
This will vary across solicitors as there is no rule to this. You should ask your solicitor what happens when your beneficiaries show up to get the Will.
Do you have to store your Will with a solicitor?
No! You don’t have to, even though your solicitor would normally offer to store your Will after writing one. It’s totally up to you where you keep your Will.
How long should a Will file be kept?
About six years after the testator had died.
Is HSBC’s Will storage still open?
No! HSBC October 2022, like many other banks, has stopped providing safety deposit services and you cannot use their safekeeping service to store your Will