Your signed Will is the only one that counts. Copies won't work.

When dealing with the local probate registry, they need the original Will with your wet ink signature. Proving a copy is a headache. If something happens to your Will, all the careful planning you did could be wasted.

Keep the original safe, and you're good to go!

You have FIVE choices for storing your original signed Will:

1. Our recommended option is secure storage at National Will Safe.

This has three key benefits:

• Your Will is in a waterproof, fireproof, insured, secure storage facility.

• You receive plastic cards printed with the details for retrieving your documents to keep or give to your Executors.

• Your details are registered, along with more than 10 million records, on the National Wills Register - Certainty UK. Anyone with a legitimate reason and a death certificate can search the database to determine if you made a Will and where it is stored. This will take away all the guesswork and hassle when your family is grieving. Registration is included FREE, saving you £30.

2. HM Courts and Tribunals Service provides a Will storage option.

The cost to deposit your Will is £22, and you must use the Court forms and print out a label to attach to your sealed envelope. You will need to complete the process again each time you update your Will. Your Executors can retrieve your Will after your death. You can find out more here.

3. You can keep it yourself.

The potential issues with storing your Will at home are loss and damage:

• If your Will cannot be found, it will be presumed that you cancelled it (the legal term is ‘revoked’).

• If you lose your Will or it was destroyed in a fire or flood at home, your Executors could try to prove that you did not intentionally revoke it. However, it can be impossible to satisfy the court that something did not happen, and it may refuse to admit a copy of your Will to probate. In cases where a valid Will cannot be found, the intestacy laws will apply, and your careful estate planning will have been wasted.

4. You could give it to someone else, perhaps one of your Executors.

However, this has the same issues as storing it at your own home—it could be damaged or lost. If you would prefer the contents of your Will to remain private until your death, this might not be a sensible option.

5. Traditional solicitors will always offer to store your original Will, but not for altruistic reasons! Yes, you’ll know where it will be and can always ask for a copy to refer to, but there are two potential issues to consider: 

• Legal professionals have a financial interest in holding on to original Wills. Holding your Will allows them to sell their estate administration services to your executors.

• Over the past year, some clients of Carisma Wills reached out to their previous legal adviser, looking for a copy of their original Will, but it turned into a scavenger hunt. This can happen when firms merge or solo lawyers call it a day. The Solicitors Regulation Authority says legal firms need solid backup plans to prevent this disaster. Unfortunately, if the loss isn't noticed until after you're gone, or you can't make a new Will, your estate plans might hit a snag.

Carisma Wills can help you arrange to store your Will, but we do not store signed documents in-house. We act as intermediaries for National Will Safe and the National Wills Register (known as Certainty UK).

National Will Safe deals only with intermediary businesses and does not arrange storage for individuals. The fee is £21 per person annually by direct debit. Registration on the National Wills Database is included, free of charge.

Carisma Wills can also record the details and location of your Will on the National Will Register. We charge a small fee to cover the administration costs.

We want you to have the freedom to choose what’s best for you and your family. Please contact us if you'd like to know more.