SWW working with Certainty the National Will Register

The Society of Will Writers is working with Certainty the National Will Register

The Society of Will Writers and Estate Planning Practitioners are delighted to confirm we are working with Certainty the National Will Register. The SWW are continually seeking to enhance the value that SWW membership brings to our members. As a result, we have sponsored a significant number of registrations for our members in order to register your clients’ Wills with Certainty the National Will Register for free.

Who is Certainty the National Will Register?

Certainty the National Will Register is the recognised provider of a National Will Register in the UK and is chosen, endorsed and used by the public, Wills and probate professionals, law firms, PI insurers, Government agencies, charities and other associated sectors and organisations to register Wills and search for Wills.

Since its inception, Certainty the National Will Register has worked in partnership with Wills and probate professionals to provide peace of mind to testators, executors and beneficiaries throughout the UK. Nearly a decade on, Certainty has established a National Will Register and is working towards ensuring that unknown or untraceable Wills are a thing of the past.

The National Will Register offers functional, convenient and productive products for both Wills and probate professionals and UK citizens.

What are the benefits of registration for both you and your client?

• Peace of mind. You are registering the basic details of your client along with the details of where the original Will has been safely stored. With the passage of time, house moves, changes in family circumstances, even issues with flooding or house fires, important documents can get lost or destroyed, which means all important documents may not be found again.
• The confidential contents of the Will are preserved. A certificate of registration issued by Certainty the National Will Register once a Will has been registered confirms that a Will exists and has been registered, but does not disclose the last wishes of the testator, which a copy Will does.
• The testators’ executors / beneficiaries may simply forget if a Will was written and where the original is held with the passage of time and the need to find the last Will and testament when in an emotional, grieving state. A quick search of the Register takes the pain out of this situation.
• For your client to register the Will themselves can cost £30. You can offer this for free thus adding value to the service you provide. Alternatively, you may decide to include a nominal administrative charge boosting your Will writing revenue, which is still less than the direct cost of £30.

Did you know?

• Certainty the National Will Register provides access to in excess of 7 million Will records
• At peak times, one Will is registered every two seconds
• The current record for Will Registration is 270,000 Wills registered in one month
• Certainty the National Will Register searches for both registered AND unregistered Wills in geographically targeted areas in the UK
• At least 1 in every 10 Certainty Will searches resulted in a Will being discovered where the estate was presumed intestate or a later, unknown Will, being brought to light
• The National Will Register is a registered trademark
• Certainty the National Will Register marks its 10 year anniversary

What about the Wills we already hold?

• The National Will Archive (Storage facility for the SWW) hold over 100,000 documents. The importance of those documents being accessible to executors on the death of the testator has never been more important. That’s part of the reason we have partnered up with Certainty the National Will Register, and the reason we will be registering the location of the Wills we hold in safe custody.
• If you don’t wish to receive this beneficial service through the SWW and National Will Archive then you have the ability to opt out. Please email [email protected] by 5pm on the 1^st October and we won’t register your Wills.
• From this date we will begin to register all of the Wills we have custody over onto the National Will Register to prevent the risk of anyone considered dying intestate.

 How do we search for a Will?

• To search for a Will then you simply need to call The National Will Archive or search the National Will Register by visiting: http://www.willsearchsww.co.uk/