Wills are private legal documents, but are retained indefinitely and become public documents once probate has been granted. It has long been established in law that, once a will is proved, anyone has a right of access to inspect the will and other related documents.
About the right to inspect original wills
So what does the law say about this? The current legislation is found in the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA) and the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 (the Probate Rules).
Section 124 of the SCA sates: “All original wills and other documents which are under the control of the High Court in the Principal Registry or in any district probate registry shall be deposited and preserved in such places as may be provided for in directions given in accordance with Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005; and any wills or other documents so deposited shall, subject to the control of the High Court and to probate rules, be open to inspection.”
About the consultation paper
The MoJ consultation paper looks at the case for reform and explores various options for reform regarding the retention of original paper wills. It proposes the possibility of the digitisation of the wills collection, which dates from 12 January 1858. It also looks at the possibility of retaining only the most recent 25 years of original wills on a rolling basis, and destroying all earlier wills, with the possible exception of those of famous people.
The consultation paper has been met with widespread dismay across the genealogical community (read a range of views here: www.family-tree.co.uk/news/saveourwills-you-canhelp/)
The consultation period is now closed and the MoJ will report on its findings by the end of May 2024. You can still sign the petition to #SaveOurWills however. See link at end of article.
About the consultation paper