RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: LizzieW on Tuesday 04 November 25 12:46 GMT (UK)
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I don't know if this has already been posted on here, but I couldn't see it.
I've just heard that effective from 17 November 2025, the fee charged by the Government Find a Will Service will increase from £1.50 to £16 per document. https://www.gov.uk/search-will-probate
I presume that is to order a will. Often I've just searched on line (free so far) and made a note of date of probate and how much money was left. I rarely buy wills, unless they're old and I need to find more information that I can find on line.
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The increase is explained here
https://todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/copy-probate-fees-to-rise-from-1-50-to-16/
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Thanks for letting us know.
We were warned something like this was coming when they withdrew their plans to digitise and then destroy the original wills and administrations back to 1858.
Even so, the steepness of the hike in price is insane.
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The increase is explained here
https://todayswillsandprobate.co.uk/copy-probate-fees-to-rise-from-1-50-to-16/
....and it seems reasonable in the light of the explanation there.
Certainly there's no possible justification for taxpayers' funds being used to subsidise copying of Wills and probate to family historians; however there might be a weak case for people currently acting as executors or administrators.
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however there might be a weak case for people currently acting as executors or administrators.
I think the price for executors is also going up to a much more unaffordable figure for probate.
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I've just sent off for probate details
I thought the will was included
Let's see how much detail I get for the bargain price of £1,50
& how long it takes
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Im. Going to see which other probate/wills i can order before the 17th.
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It has arrived ..
Big difference of seeing the executor and main testator on cover page
&.seeing the actual will
Which in this mans case confirmed his sisters married surnames showed that although estranged from.his wife he took care of his daughter & left property abroard to his long term.partner mother of at least 1 other child
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I can quite see why they've put it up - but I suspect they will have priced many of us out of the market.
Also just off to order a bunch of wills before the 17th!
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I've just tried to order a couple of Wills . I have to create an account and they won't accept my email address! Has anyone else had this problem?
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yes but may have been cos id previously had an account on a different email account
gmail .com didnt work hotmail.co.uk did
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Theres something i dont understand on the will
His brother is down as sole executor + is left to manage various businesses
but the sister who he lived with is down as a Testator (hand written cover page )
+ inherits a third of money from estates along with other sister + his daughter .
the wording implies she id to handle distribution of jewellry + take possession of household items in the hotel of which he is the proprietor .
sounds like she is also am executor
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all I can say is thank goodness I have the wills in my direct line already! Most were bought before the price drop when digitised but I won’t be able to afford anything after the 17th!
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A cynic might wonder if the inevitable huge drop off in applications for old wills might be used as evidence people aren't really interested in them after all, and that scanning and then destroying the originals isn't so objectionable, all things considered.
/cynical
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I won't bother anymore.
I remember years ago there was a huge increase, I think we could get copies in person from the London office near Holborn, I signed a petition along with lots of others and the price went down to £5, a lot less than they originally wanted the rise to be.
LM
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What is you opinions on this?,
A relation died by taking his own life in 2022, he left a printed note about his effects just before he did the deed, he had a house, not much money but I suspect a few bits and pieces, I cannot find a legal will, would the note he left on the night he died to be sufficient to distribute his effects including selling his house that he had jointly with his wife
LM
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What is you opinions on this?,
A relation died by taking his own life in 2022, he left a printed note about his effects just before he did the deed, he had a house, not much money but I suspect a few bits and pieces, I cannot find a legal will, would the note he left on the night he died to be sufficient to distribute his effects including selling his house that he had jointly with his wife
LM
Assuming that he died intestate then the administrator of his estate would be bound to follow the rules for intestacy. The exact details depend on where the deceased habitually lived; different rules apply for England & Wales, Scotland and N Ireland, and different again if he lived outside the UK. To take England and Wales as an example, since he was married, and the estate is worth up to £270,000, his wife (or civil partner) would get the whole of the estate. If it was worth over £270,000, the wife would get that amount and half of the remainder, with any children sharing the other half of the amount over £270,000. Only his issue or an adopted child would inherit; step children don't count.
A hand written note cannot constitute a valid will because (a) a will needs to be witnessed, and (b) the person making the will needs to have mental capacity. Frequently, a person who commits suicide is found to have been 'of unsound mind' and therefore would not have the necessary mental capacity at that time of their death.
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You say he owned the house jointly with his wife. It depends on how they owned it, if as Tenants in Common then they owned each half separately and his half would form part of his estate and would be dealt with as such. If they owned the house as joint tenants his half would automatically pass to his wife and not be included in his estate.
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If you order a will that you ordered once before, then it is delivered instantly (even if it's not a modern will)
Ask me how I found that out ::)
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Seeing as you asked, HOW..?
LM
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Yes, I have just made that mistake too! We will have to take more care after the price rise. I seem to remember that they are ready sooner if anyone has ordered that will before, not just you or me.
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Yes, I have just made that mistake too! We will have to take more care after the price rise. I seem to remember that they are ready sooner if anyone has ordered that will before, not just you or me.
In preparation for the price rise (and to work out what to order before) I've started a spreadsheet where I'll record the wills I've already purchased.
A £1.50 error isn't so bad, but paying £16 for something I've already got would be painful.
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I've just put in the last three orders on my current wish list.
The site seems very slow and the little wheel spun for ages while payment was being processed.
Have we overloaded them like when the price was reduced to £1.50 ?
Should I be expecting a long wait for my wills? Has anyone had delivery of a recent order?
Regarding the new price I was thinking that it sort of compares with the current cost of a paper marriage certificate from the GRO and likewise is always a bit of a punt on what details might be included. One will I bought contains loads of family detail and what was left to whom and where everyone lived. Another was more or less "I leave everything to my wife".
Tony.
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I would certainly expect them to have been snowed under for the last couple of weeks! I have just had one this morning which was ordered on the fifth of November. That is clearly slower than 'normal' but better than it could have been. On the other hand I have one outstanding from the previous order on 28th October which may have got overlooked, or they may just be clearing straightforward ones first. :-\
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Todays message from the website
Upcoming Service Maintenance - Monday, 17th of November 2025
The Find a Will service is temporarily unavailable while we carry out essential updates. We’re working to restore access as soon as possible—thank you for your patience.
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Should I be expecting a long wait for my wills? Has anyone had delivery of a recent order?
If their order numbers are sequential (they appear to be) then I reckon they had about 5500 orders between the morning of the 13th and midnight last night.
But one order can include multiple Will requests (I don't know if there is an upper limit, but I did 10 at a time), so the actual number of Wills requested could be much higher.
Some of those will be digital already, so not as much work as the others. But I get the feeling there will be a service message posted soon saying that it will take longer than normal for orders to be completed.
I was a bit surprised the system didn't go down completely at some point yesterday. I guess the current maintenance is to change things to reflect the new charges... I last looked at the site around 1am and it was still only charging £1.50 per Will then.
Thinking about it, the government claims the cost of each request is something like £16, therefore that's what the new charge will be. But documents which have already been digitised and are therefore available immediately won't require as much work, so for them £16 seems a bit of a rip-off.
In particular, the soldier's wills (that don't contain much info anyway) seem expensive for £16, and charging so much for families trying to reconnect with relatives who gave everything for their country seems a bit off. But I guess this just reflects the modern approach to government.
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Hi
Their site must have had an awful lot of traffic over the weekend.
i managed to get all my orders in but it took time and patience.
My credit card was refused and accepted and refused and accepted and so on, had to change email addresses and so on..
Now, I eagerly await the results but I see
Upcoming Service Maintenance - Monday, 17th of November 2025
The Find a Will service is temporarily unavailable while we carry out essential updates. We’re working to restore access as soon as possible—thank you for your patience.
I don' think they are in any hurry!
Rebel
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Upcoming Service Maintenance - Monday, 17th of November 2025
The Find a Will service is temporarily unavailable while we carry out essential updates. We’re working to restore access as soon as possible—thank you for your patience.
I don' think they are in any hurry!
Rebel
At £16 a pop they will have plenty of time to deal with any backlog prior to the price rise - and after that no doubt they wont need as many staff as the demand will dry up to a tiny trickle.
Boo
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Don't think I am going to bother anymore, what I don't know now I am not going to bother about, not as if I can't afford it but it is to big an increase in my opinion and it is going to spoil others enjoyment as researchers.
L M.
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Boo, I don't think demand will dry up as much as that. Didn't someone say that family historians are less than half of their customers?
When we bought this house many years ago we had to wait while three probates were obtained to prove the man had the right to sell the house!
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Boo, I don't think demand will dry up as much as that. Didn't someone say that family historians are less than half of their customers?
When we bought this house many years ago we had to wait while three probates were obtained to prove the man had the right to sell the house!
With compulsory (property) registration those sort of needs will be diminishing over time. Once a property is registered the historic probate trail should become irrelevant unless there was a serious legal dispute.
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I ordered some Wills about a week before the price increase. A couple were immediately available, presumably because someone had ordered them previously, and I've been waiting for the rest. Today I received an email telling me that another one has been fulfilled. It would be good if their site wasn't still down for maintenance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be back before the 30 day limit expires.
Jane :-)
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I ordered some Wills about a week before the price increase. A couple were immediately available, presumably because someone had ordered them previously, and I've been waiting for the rest. Today I received an email telling me that another one has been fulfilled. It would be good if their site wasn't still down for maintenance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be back before the 30 day limit expires.
Jane :-)
Unless this update has changed how it works, the 30 days doesn't start until the first time you download the file. I ordered some in June but didn't get round to accessing them until 2 weeks ago just after the price increase announcement. The date they are available to was 30 days after I first downloaded them. I've done it a few times before because I rarely get an email advising that they are available, and there have been some delays over recent months too. I hope that they haven't changed this because I've got quite a few on order which I wouldn't purchase for the new price but am happy to get at the old. ;D I suspect I may be waiting a while for them.
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The site seems to be back up but is moving like treacle in winter.
Took ages to login. After I put my email address in the first screen, it took ages to get to the password screen.
Eventually logged me in but something has happened to the My Orders screen. It used to be in descending date placed order and it was now just sort of jumbled order.
I did manage to download the 2 wills/grants that are currently available from my recent orders but it took a long time.
Still got a few I am waiting for and hopefully they will have sorted the website properly by then.
Boo
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I have just looked and it is still showing as unavailable so you were lucky :)
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I have just looked and it is still showing as unavailable so you were lucky :)
Maybe I wore it out ? :-)
Boo
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;D ;D
It seems mad that it has been down now for over 2 days when as far as we are concerned it was only the price needed amending. Hopefully they have sorted out some of the search problems that some people have had
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The site seems to be back up again (for me at least) now.
Other than the orders now appearing in a random order I don't see any other changes.
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How long does it take for a order to come through. Ordered my first on 16th November
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How long does it take for a order to come through. Ordered my first on 16th November
There are a few different factors which affect a delivery time.
If they are 'very' recent or have been ordered before then delivery can be quite quick.
Other than that it varies - depending on how busy they are I suppose. Given that many people would have ordered to avoid the large price hike on 17th they may have a backlog.
Boo
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'Normally' - meaning before the mad panic to order over the last couple of weeks - the ones that were not ready almost straight away were taking about 5 to 10 days. However, if you had ordered several wills there seems to have been no obvious order in which they were produced.
Thinking logically, a few days without new orders from the website ought to have allowed them to catch up with some of the backlog. Unfortunately, I know of at least one person who ordered 'several hundred' wills last week, :o so the backlog could be quite large.
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I am surprised (and dismayed) that nowhere on the website, prior to the screen where you input your card details and actually pay, is there a mention of the new price.
I feel that at the very least they should have something on screen way before you actually put your card details in and pay.
Boo
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There's mention of a new "bulk access" fee. If this is set at a reasonable level I could cope, but I expect it will be set in the £1000's
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There's mention of a new "bulk access" fee. If this is set at a reasonable level I could cope, but I expect it will be set in the £1000's
Bulk access is not new. It's a continuous electronic feed of every grant, you don't get to choose what you want. At the moment that is still £1.50 per will. (about £90k per quarter looking at rough figures)
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Ah, I see. I was hoping for some kind of season ticket arrangement. But who needs that bulk access? I quess you only pay for what you take
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Ah, I see. I was hoping for some kind of season ticket arrangement. But who needs that bulk access? I quess you only pay for what you take
There's at least one company out there systematically checking for legacies to charities.
I believe it's all or nothing, I don't think you get to choose what you take.
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I am surprised (and dismayed) that nowhere on the website, prior to the screen where you input your card details and actually pay, is there a mention of the new price.
I feel that at the very least they should have something on screen way before you actually put your card details in and pay.
Boo
Looks like they've had a lot of complaints about that since today there is a banner across the site with the new price. ;D
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I am surprised (and dismayed) that nowhere on the website, prior to the screen where you input your card details and actually pay, is there a mention of the new price.
I feel that at the very least they should have something on screen way before you actually put your card details in and pay.
Boo
Looks like they've had a lot of complaints about that since today there is a banner across the site with the new price. ;D
Good, as well as posting in here I had also contacted them via their 'feedback' link to express my dismay as I firmly believe that complaining 'to' is usually more productive than complaining 'about' :-)
Boo
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Just had my first two email notifications of pre-price change ordered Wills being available - one ordered 13/11/2025 and the other 14/11/2025.
Seems like they are starting to tackle the backlog!
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I ordered mine on the 16th and still pending, Is it still backlog or is there a issue with my order?
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I too have some still pending since 16th Nov although others ordered at the same time were available a few days later. I try to make a point of checking my account each day, in case a notification email doesn't arrive. Although tempting I've resisted contacting them so far, if they are still ploughing through a backlog the last thing they need is numerous "where's my order" emails.
Jane :-)
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In November I had notification of a will that I'd ordered on 30th March 2025. So long ago that I'd forgotten about it.
Since the two-day reset of the website, I can see all my old and current orders, but those I ordered in a rush to beat the price rise do not show the cutoff date to download. Not that it matters because I download them immediately.
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Hi folks, hope you are all well?
Whilst the brilliant price of £1.50 for me and fellow genealogists was fabulous. At some point, I think we all knew the price was going to rise, It's not a Government priority. HOWEVER, I use this site regularly, purchase 3 or 4 a month - just for research purposes, never shared elsewhere.
What annoys me is the fact that I didn't receive any notification of the price rise at all. Only found out when the last one I purchased on Dec 1st cost me £16 and not the usual £1.50. Surely they could have notified registered users!!
That will be the last Will or probate I purchase for a while. Disappointed.
Kindest Regards
Jan