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The National Will Register working with The Law Society

The National Will Register

UK WILL SEARCH AND REGISTRATION SERVICES

The National Will Register is the UK’s leading will search and registration service, ensuring the correct will is located for estate administration mitigating the risk of litigation and assuring the testator’s wishes are honoured.

The National Will Rgister Product Screen)

Key features:

  • Conduct will search services effortlessly

  • Add value and protection for testators by registering wills

  • Opportunities from searches for probate work

  • Over 10.5 million wills in the system

  • The Law Society’s preferred will search and registration provider

  • Risk mitigation for law firms

A rich, diverse customer base

Tollers Solicitors
HCB Solicitors
Wilkin Chapman logo
Glaisyers logo
Rothera Bray

How The National Will Register benefits your law firm

Reduced risk of errors in probate cases
Conducting a will search provides a clearer picture on the testacy situation of a person and negates the possibility of mishandling an estate
Grow your customer base with will registration
Will registration helps retain probate work when creating a will, and offers greater value to your wills and probate clients
More streamlined casework
Will search and registration can be conducted within seconds through our Practice and Case Management solutions

Why work with OneAdvanced?

Our experts understand your problems before we find a solution.
Great value, uncompromised quality – that’s our promise to you.
An experienced will search and registration team to handle your queries.

It’s critical in this electronic day and age that wills are registered in a central database, so that when someone dies the family can easily search to see if a will has been registered in their name, and if it has, which law firm is storing the original.

Tammy Butler, Hopkins Solicitors
Read case study
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Features and benefits

Mitigating risk

Reducing the risk of mishandling probate cases

By searching for a will, you can check to see if a will was made, or confirm whether you have the most up-to-date version to correctly administer an estate so that you and your clients can proceed with confidence.  

Benefits of this feature
  • 10.5 million wills in the system – over half of the wills in the UK
  • Ensures comprehensive due diligence
  • Reduces risk of claims and disputes
  • Saves time and resources
  • Enhances professional credibility

Assurance

Provide your will writing clients with assurance

Registering the location of a will makes it easier for loved ones and executors to search for upon the testator’s death, ensuring it can be found and acted upon when it is needed most, in a safe and secure way.

Benefits of this feature
  • Ensures the wills existence is documented
  • Strengthens client assurance
  • Supports compliance and best practices
  • Ensures you are contacted if a searcher is looking for the will
  • Minimises potential disputes in the future

Wills management

Making wills management easier with The National Will Register and OneAdvanced Legal

The National Will Register is part of OneAdvanced Legal, which means that you can search for and register wills within your Practice and Case Management system so your fee-earners don’t even need to leave the matter file to ensure compliance and best practice.

Benefits of this feature
  • Saves time for fee-earners
  • Ensures everything is in one place
  • Facilitates best practice for will writing and probate
  • Strengthens data management

Secure will registration

As a law firm, registering a will with The National Will Register provides an added layer of security and certainty for your clients and their families. By storing the location of the will in a secure, central database, you can ensure that the latest version of the document is easily  verifiable, reducing the risk of disputes and delays. This not only provides peace of mind for your clients, but also helps to protect your firm's reputation and mitigate potential risks associated with will storage and administration.

Nationwide will search

A REACH will search with The National Will Register provides law firms with a powerful tool to not only search their register of approximately half of all wills in the UK, but also a nationwide, geographically targeted search for wills that have not been registered amongst law firms and professional will writers. 

By searching a vast database of registered wills, you can verify the existence and authenticity of a will, and provide certainty for your clients and their families. This can be particularly useful in cases where a will is missing or disputed, helping to resolve estate administration and probate matters more efficiently.

Reporting & insights

The National Will Register provides law firms with valuable reporting and insights to help manage their will storage and administration processes more effectively. With access to detailed analytics and statistics, you can track the number of wills stored, search activity, and other key metrics.

This data can be used to inform business decisions, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the overall client experience. By leveraging these insights, law firms can optimise their will storage and administration services, reducing costs and improving the quality of service provided to clients.

Learn more about will search and registration

The 2024 National Wills Report

Learn about the will-writing and estate planning attitudes of UK adults

Mother's will found in 24 hours

Will search proved a vital step in finding the will of her late mother dating back to 1993.

Will Search Guide

Understand how and why to check there is no Will or later will before proceeding with the distribution of an estate.

Video: Integration with OneAdvanced Legal

Watch how easy it is to register and search for wills in OneAdvanced Legal.

FAQs

  • Who uses The National Will Register?

    The National Will Register is widely used by legal professionals, will writers, private individuals, professional indemnity insurers, government agencies, charities, and other entities involved in estate planning or administration.

  • Why is registering a will important?

    Registering a will ensures a secure, verifiable record of its existence and location. It mitigates the risks of a will being lost, forgotten, or overlooked, ensuring that the testator’s wishes are honoured and reducing the likelihood of costly disputes or claims.

  • What is a will search? When should I perform one?

    A will search is a tool that helps locate existing registered or unregistered wills, ensuring all relevant documents are identified during estate administration or probate.

     A will search should be conducted when someone passes away to ensure the latest valid will is located before the probate process begins.  

  • Can I integrate The National Will Register into my firm’s processes?

    Yes, The National Will Register integrates seamlessly into your firm’s workflow, complementing existing legal and estate administration processes - and is a part of OneAdvanced Legal.

  • Is The National Will Register legally recognised?

    Yes, The National Will Register is widely recognised in the legal and probate sectors as a trusted resource, contributing to due diligence and transparency in estate administration.

  • What is The National Will Register?

    The National Will Register has grown from Certainty the National Will Register to become the trademarked national will register for the UK providing will registration and will search services to the public and profession. In 2021, The National Will Register became part of OneAdvanced, a leading provider of solutions for the legal market.

  • Is The National Will Register legitimate?

    Whilst will registration isn't currently compulsory in the UK, it is strongly recommended in following best practice by independent leading bodies, including:

    • The Law Society
    • Which?
    • Citizens Advice
    • Money Saving Expert
    • Will Aid

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