Once a Will has been signed and witnessed it needs to be stored in a safe place.
The Longman dictionary defines a safe place as “a place where something is not likely to be stolen or lost”.
How many times is that “safe place” forgotten? Many years ago I purchased 20 tickets for a Frank Sinatra concert way in advance of the event and placed them in a safe place. Of course when it came to the night before the concert, I was unable to find them!
Will Storage in Cyprus
In Cyprus, Wills can either be retained personally, stored with ourselves or lawyers, with the Court, or perhaps even with a bank.
Cyprus Wills require to be stamped with €18 Revenue stamps either at the time of signing of the Will or by the executor prior to the submission of the Will for Grant of Probate. If it is
desired to lodge the Will at the Court in Paphos, the Will must be stamped at that time & there is a further Court fee of €11 in Revenue stamps. If the Will is likely to be amended it may be appropriate not to stamp it at the time of signing, which is formally referred to as “Attestation”.
We at Maplebrook Services do offer a Will storage service for which an annual fee is payable.
Locating A Will After Someone Has Passed Away
Sometimes after a person has passed away we receive a call or email from a relative enquiring whether we know where a client has kept their Will. With our own clients we do ask them whether they wish us to make a note on our computer as to where they will be storing their Will, if not with us.
Recently, we received a call from a lady in the UK enquiring whether we may have written a Will for her father and if so, did we know where it was stored. In this instance the father was not a client of ours but we did assist the lady by emailing a number of lawyers with whom we have relationships enquiring whether they might have written the Will. Fortunately, we were successful in identifying the relevant firm and advised the lady accordingly.
In the UK there is a service for noting the location of a Will, but unfortunately it is not available unless the testator has an UK postcode. SO ...
New Will Registry Service
Maplebrook Services is pleased to announce that we are creating a WILL REGISTRY SERVICE which will be available both for our clients and for non-clients. Our clients will not be charged for the service but we will levy a nominal annual fee to non clients, the proceeds of which will be donated to a local charity.
For further information and advice, please contact the friendly team at Maplebrook Services on 26 600780 or via email to info@maplebrookservices.com.