Secure Document Storage

Your Will ought to be stored in a secure location to avoid it getting lost or inadvertently destroyed.

Copy Wills are not legally valid, so if your signed Will is lost or destroyed it is treated as though you had not made a Will. In other words, you are considered to have died intestate.

Bicester Wills can offer a secure storage service with The Archive Centre. This long established local company are an ISO 9001 registered firm. They are therefore fully compliant with The Data Protection Act 1998.

For a yearly fee of £20, payable by Standing Order, you may store all your important original documents. This includes Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, property deeds and so on.

Your documents will be collected from us and stored by the Archive Centre. We will give you storage cards with retrieval details and a unique reference number so that your documents can be identified. We suggest that you keep a card yourself and give one to each of your Executors so that they can easily retrieve the documents on your death.

This storage service is a low cost, easy option for providing peace of mind. Having gone to the trouble of making a Will, it certainly makes sense to keep it safe and sound.

Thank you very much for the fast and efficient service you provided recently in preparing a will for my client at short notice.

Having given the instructions on a Friday, I was very impressed that you provided a draft by Saturday and the final version ready for signature on Monday.

At my company we try to provide clients with prompt professional service, and I was delighted to find that you also provide this sort of service to your clients.

Needless to say I have no hesitation in recommending you to any of my clients and contacts who might need your services in the future.

Michael J

Services

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What does an Executor do?

The role of Executor involves collecting in all your assets, paying off your debts, and distributing your estate in accordance with your wishes. It’s a time consuming role that is a considerable responsbility, so you and your Executor(s) should be realistic about the potential challenges of the role.

Confidence Tricksters & Estate Planning…

Our attention is sometimes caught by media reports of manipulative individuals taking advantage of older or vulnerable people for financial gain.
This might be by convincing the person to change their Will, or set up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in respect of Property and Financial Affairs, in their favour.

Representing my views on healthcare

When we become too ill to speak for ourselves we are said to have ‘lost capacity’. Necessary decisions about treatment and care will be made by medical professionals, deciding what is in our best interests and acting accordingly. For your voice to be heard, an appropriate person will have to make an application to become your Health and Welfare Deputy.

What’s happening with Probate fees?

The planned increase to Probate Fees has not yet happened – though it’s still likely that it will. What can you do to assist your Executors, who will have to pay the fee when they apply for the Grant of Probate? We can advise you. Book an appointment with us to ensure your estate is prepared.