GeoffF100 wrote:Would the Principal Registry of the Family Division automatically be searched?
No is the short answer, but only because in the vast majority of cases it's not necessary, the Will having been found easily.
However, if there was no trace of a Will but it was thought likely that a Will had been made then yes, a PR search would be part of the usual checklist.
It would also be normal practice to make a search with the National Will Register -
https://www.nationalwillregister.co.uk/ There is a charge to register your Will with them but as the registration charge is £30 you may think it not excessive for an estate worth millions!
However, I think you're worrying excessively. The large charities are in my experience extremely greedy, and I've no doubt they have a link to some form of database that will automatically check every death in the UK to see if it matches up to a name in their own records. When your name pops up on a death certificate I'd guarantee that they will know about it within days, as will the solicitor holding the original Will.
What can do I do to ensure that the executor has an up to date list of my investments? I could set up a file listing the accounts on the cloud, with read access to anyone with the link. Perhaps that link could be included in my will? Is there a better method?
This is not really necessary. When I'm administering an estate I don't need a list of individual investments; I just need to know where they are. For example, as most shares are now held in nominee accounts I just need to know who holds them and they will provide me with full details. So all you really need is a list of which institutions hold your assets.
I have read that you must not attach other documents to your will. The issue is that the will must be exactly as it was when it was witnessed. If the will has staple holes in it, that can also cause problems in establishing that the will is complete, i.e. that an original attachment has not been removed.
You’re entirely correct, and gryffron should take note. If a Will has a document attached to it, or there is evidence that a document was attached to it, e.g. staple holes, it definitely causes problems when applying for probate, as you will need to file what used to be quaintly called an `affidavit of plight and condition', though it's now submitted in the form of a witness statement.
I need to have lots of bank accounts to stay within the FSCS compensation limit.
Whilst I can understand the logic I really can't see that with such a large estate it's worth the hassle of changing accounts all the time. Providing the accounts are with a major bank, like Barclays or HSBC the chances of them going bust are so minimal it's surely not worth bothering about - or if they do go bust then the chances are that your other investments will be worthless as well!
I am sure that solicitors will file stuff away with a will. I am also sure that there will be a charge for storing updated documents every month. Storing a link to a folder in the cloud should be cheaper.
In my experience solicitors never make a charge for storing Wills, as they look upon them as an asset. If they hold the Will it gives them a head start when the application for probate is to be made, and such work is generally profitable and welcome.
Finally, I would ask you to consider whether giving such large amounts to a `big charity' is making the best use of your estate. I have spent decades dealing with these charities, and many of them can only be described as rapacious. They have an arrangement whereby they check every Will that's admitted to probate, and as soon as they see their name they immediately contact the executor / solicitor to stake their claim.
They often send chasing letters, and if they're a residuary beneficiary they will almost always demand copies of the estate accounts, and go through them with a fine tooth comb, looking for any possible errors. I had one only a couple of years ago submitting a two page questionnaire, asking questions such as did we get advice from at least three estate agents when selling the house, and asking for copies of their advice. They even wanted copies of contract notes for the sale of shares. I basically told them to get stuffed, but presumably many solicitors pander to such demands, thereby increasing the legal bill at the expense of the residuary beneficiaries (ironically meaning the charity gets less!)
They also routinely employ expensive London solicitors to do their chasing for them, wasting their assets quite wantonly, no doubt because the senior partner of the solicitors is chummy with one of the trustees of the charity!
Of course not all of them are like this, but I have a very sceptical view of many of the large charities anyway. They are run more like large companies than charities, with often very highly paid staff and vast marketing spends. They occupy prime property in central London, and generally look after themselves extremely well.
By contrast, there are many much smaller, local charities who are what I would call `genuine’ charities, mostly run by volunteers, and who do a really great job, often on a shoestring. I'm quite open in advising my clients who are intending to benefit `the usual suspects' to consider these alternatives, where the money (at least in my opinion) achieves a lot more per pound than giving it to a large, national charity.
It's also genuinely heart warming to see the gratitude that results from even a fairly modest legacy to a small charity, as it often makes a huge difference to them, whereas £10k for a national charity is chump change.
Sorry to go off on a tangent, but it's something I feel quite strongly about, having witnessed at first hand some quite appalling behaviour from the national charities, and it’s a trend that seems to be getting worse.
