Why Keeping Your Will Safe Is Important

I received emails like this from time to time. Although the background is slightly different in each case, the common factor in each of them is similar.

My father died last recently in Malaysia, although he was born in Britain. My step mother has already had him cremated without consent from any of his family, she will not inform me, his eldest child whether he had left a Will or not. He was a wealthy man and I fear she will get to keep everything, leaving me and my brother without a penny. Please can you advise me what are the best steps to take to ensure this injustice doesn’t happen.

The reason this happens is usually some member of the family don’t trust the other. If one party has access to the final Will and don’t like what they see in it, they can hide the Will, destroy it or claim that so Will ever existed. In other cases, the latest Will is destroyed and an earlier written Will is produced.

Keeping your Will safe means only the executors will have access to your Will when you are no longer around. It will save your family a lot of hassle and arguments.