There are a few common misconceptions about Wills. For example, when you die, your Executors must use the firm that prepared your Will to administer your estate.

Another common misconception is that you need to store your original Will with the firm that prepared it.

Now, it is always a good idea for a solicitors’ firm to store your original Will because of a rule of law known as the “presumption of revocation”.

If your original Will cannot be found when you die and was last known to be in your possession, you are presumed to have revoked it.

The Intestacy Rules will then apply instead of your wishes.

The Intestacy Rules create a particular problem if your Will names an unmarried partner, friends, or charities as beneficiaries or if there are blood relatives whom you do not want to inherit.

Storing your Will with a solicitor means that the presumption of revocation can never apply.

However, your Will does not need to be held by the solicitor who drew it up.

Moving Your Will To Another Solicitor's Firm

So why might you wish to move your Will to another firm of solicitors?

There are a number of reasons why you might consider this.

For example:

  • You might have moved, and the original solicitors firm is no longer in a convenient location
  • The individual solicitor who prepared the Will has left or retired
  • The firm has closed the office that you dealt with
  • The firm itself has changed (for example, becoming a lot more corporate and less caring following a merger).

All of these are valid reasons.

You may just decide that, through your own research, there are better, more capable solicitors elsewhere who can handle your legal requirements.

The important thing to remember is that the choice is yours to make.

How To Move Your Will

Moving your Will to another firm could not be simpler.

For example, if you wish to transfer your Will to Monan Gozzett LLP, we simply need to know the name of the firm that holds your original Will, your full name, your telephone number, and your home address.

If you had a different address when you signed your Will, then we need to know that address as well.

We provide you with a letter of authority to sign, which we then submit to your old solicitor so that your Will and any other documents (for example, your Deeds or your Powers of Attorney) can be sent to us.

You do not need to contact your old solicitor directly or give any reason for moving your Will.

Contact Monan Gozzett

At Monan Gozzett LLP, we do not charge for transferring Wills from another firm, and most firms do not charge for releasing your Will to us.

When we receive your Will, we will arrange a free review appointment with you to check that it still meets your needs and to take down information that will be helpful to your Executors when you pass away, such as details of your assets, pensions and other sources of income, and any debts.

The review appointment can be in our Arundel office, but free home visits are available in the areas where this magazine is distributed.

If you would like to transfer your Will from another firm, contact our Private Client team today.

Do you have any questions about the subjects raised in this blog? Feel free to fill in the form below and we will do our best to reply to you:

If you would like to speak to our expert legal team about this, or any related subject then please contact our team by phone on 0207 936 6329, Email or by completing our Quick Contact Form below.