The process of a will search, and how it altered the course of events for one family.

Glanvilles Damant, a solicitor firm in the Isle of Wight, is a member of Certainty the National Will Register.

The family of a deceased person approached the solicitor with what appeared to be an intestacy matter. As more background information came to light regarding the case and the supposed lack of will, the firm decided to conduct a will search as a safeguard.

On searching, an unregistered will that had been made in 1986 was located. The will was held by Derrick Bridges & Co, a firm based near to the deceased's address. The will disclosed provisions that had been made for stepchildren of the deceased, which wouldn't have been known if the estate had been considered intestate.

By conducting a will search, the solicitor took the steps to ensure that the estate was distributed correctly, preventing the rectification of distribution issues at a later date, had this will subsequently come to light.

Rory Thorpe, partner at Derrick Bridges & Co, comments: “After checking our records using the details provided in the will search notification, we were able to confirm that we held a will for the deceased dated 1986. From that, we were able to contact the named executor of the will, who then instructed us to help administer the estate, ultimately winning us the probate work.”

About the author

Certainty is the longest established and largest will register in the UK and is the Law Society's endorsed provider of national will register. To find our more and search for a will, go to www.nationalwillregister.co.uk.