Q. My mother recently died. She mentioned that she had made a will a few months before her death but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Can you help?
A. As a first port of call you should contact her Solicitor as each individual firm of solicitors will keep a database of all the wills they hold. However, this doesn't help you if you don't know who the solicitors are or if your mother used a new solicitor to make her final will.
Unfortunately a person making a will doesn't always choose to tell the next of kin or her family that they've made a will or where to find it. Changing circumstances, moving to another area or simply the passage of time can sometimes make it difficult to locate an individual's last will.
A recent public survey showed that 67% of the public did not know where to find their parents wills. There is no requirement to register who you leave your will with and until such a requirement is introduced there will always be problems.
However, a voluntary register was recently introduced and people making a will are now able to register their will should they choose a firm of solicitors who are aware of this register. Of course, this does not help you here, and we would suggest that you contact our wills & probate department who will take further details from you and do their best to track down your mothers will.
Should you have any queries regarding this or related issues please contact Keith Swan of Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors by email at ks@pgslaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0808 231 7043. Patterson, Glenton & Stracey have prepared wills for the people of South Tyneside for over 125 years. For details of their full range of services and to view previous Gazette articles please log on to www.pgslaw.co.uk.
