THE ABC
OF WILL
STORAGE
WITH THE
NATIONAL
WILL
ARCHIVE:
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The Society of Will Writers
The National Will Archive, our document
storage service, provides safe and secure
Will storage based in Lincoln at Unit 2
Blackwood Court, Teal Park, LN6 3AE.
We currently hold over 120,000 legal
documents, and those include but are
not limited to: Wills, Lasting Power of
Attorney documents, Advance Directives
and Tenancy Severance documentation
and property deeds. Documents are
tracked on our system by being scanned
and databased on arrival at and departure
from our storage facility. Our Will store
also holds a high number of recovered
Wills issued by private organisations
which have stopped trading and handed
over their Wills to the National Will
Archive for safe storage.
A for Accessibility.
One of the most important factors to
consider when a Will is stored is knowing
the physical location of the Will so that it
can be accessed, located, and retrieved
when the time arises for it to be executed.
The Executors named in the Will need
to know where the Will is before they
can apply for probate to carry out the
wishes of the person who made the Will.
To ensure each Will is discoverable and
searchable, every client of the National
Will Archive:
1. Is sent a Certificate of Safe Storage
with us and provided with a Custody
Reference Number.
2. Is sent two Executor Cards, to be
passed on to Executors so they know
where the Will is.
3. Is given the option to register their Will
with ‘Certainty’, the UK’s National Will
Register.
B for Backup.
As well as scanning all documents on-
site on arrival at and departure from our
storage facility, we backup all scanned
documents and client records off-site as
well. This enables us to be able to replace
or resurrect every scanned and backed
up document. In the event that we are
unable to locate a Will or where a Will is
lost in transit, which is extremely rare, we
are also able to ‘certify’ copies of each
Will and associated documents, rendering
them valid, legal, and admissible to
probate.
C for Checks.
All Wills deposited or stored at the
National Will Archive, are checked to
make sure they are properly signed,
witnessed, and attested. This is in
accordance with the validity requirements
for Wills under Section 9 of Wills Act 1837.
The friendly and helpful staff at the
National Will Archive are happy to answer
any questions you may have regarding
Will storage and can be contacted on
01522 581430 or at
www.thenationalwillarchive.co.uk.
The Society of Will Writers
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