Press release for Harrogate Advertiser

 

19 July 2010

 

 

It’s hard to believe that hundreds of thousands of people are completely unaware of the fact that family members, long since deceased, have bequeathed them money in a Will but sadly it is true. A recent public survey* revealed that 67% of respondents didn’t know the location of their parent’s Will. It is no surprise then that there are hundreds of unclaimed wills stored with solicitors across the country, enabling The Treasury to swallow £10bn every year from unclaimed public estates.

 

In a bid to help reduce this problem, a national wills register, certainty.co.uk, has been created which records the name of the solicitors firm holding the Will. No details of the Will itself are recorded; it merely provides an accessible and central means to locate it. This new initiative will help grieving families more easily locate the Will of the deceased, eradicating some of the pressure of dealing with the death of a loved one.

 

Although it only launched last year the database is already growing fast and is endorsed by Law Society President, England & Wales 2005/6, Kevin Martin.

 

Harrogate and Ripon based solicitors, Barber Titleys, are among the first in the region to embrace this new initiative and is offering clients who made Wills with them prior to 25^th March 2010 the opportunity to join the national wills register for free. Clients, who made wills after this date can also take advantage of this new service for a nominal fee.

Judith Long, Partner and head of Wills and Probate at Barber Titleys says: “It’s sad that so many dying wishes haven’t been honoured and that so many people are missing out on what is rightfully theirs. We’re thrilled to be involved with certainty.co.uk and to be able to offer our clients a service that could avoid this happening to them and their families. We hope all our clients will take advantage of this great opportunity.”

 

Judith continues: “No one likes to think about death but, unfortunately, it’s one of life’s few certainties. We work so hard all our life to build up our financial worth, for ourselves and our loved ones, yet often neglect to consider what happens to it all when we leave this world. We urge everyone with any assets to make a Will, but also strongly recommend registering on the national wills register to ensure that their Will can then be found, without difficulty or delay, when the inevitable time comes to hand over their worldly possessions.”