find a will service (online)

[rosie99]

To be honest (and I do hope I don't offend) but this system is new and we are very lucky to have it. It only went totally live mid December, perhaps they were daft starting it immediately before a long Bank Holiday when staff were hoping to have a relaxing time.   I am one of the lucky ones who has not needed to rush in and order anything as I did all of mine by snail mail before they hiked the price up.

I think we need to be patient. 

[groom]

I agree, Rosie, there are bound to be snags at first and I think they are trying to sort them. I don't suppose they expected to be unidated with requests so quickly.

[dawnsh]

Historically, the whole Probate Service (and that's executors applying for probate as well as copy wills) is very quiet between Christmas & New Year which is why it went live publically with press releases on/around 19th December.

Before the holiday, acknowledgements were typically 5-10 working days but documents were being received sooner.

It had been 'live' since the 12th and before the 12th the business users had foreseen some of the problems.

I do know that there have been some modifications put in place and things will get better in the very near future.

If they don't then they'll be a lot of people asnswering some tricky questions as HMCTS have withdrawn their London presence and now there is no option of looking at the calendars in person and paying over the counter at the RCJ.

Who remembers the 1901 census going live? that went down again for 8 months within minutes of the launch.

[groom]

Who remembers the 1901 census going live? that went down again for 8 months within minutes of the launch.

I was just thinking about that. 

[plimmerian]

I am not just angry with wills online - it's like everything you have to pay for these days - you're paying for a service and not getting a decent level of service - you complain and no one at the other end is bothered - like sheep we are expected to just sit back and accept it! I don't have the time to sit back and wait, if the system can't do the job then don't release it until it can or compensate those who have not received the level of service they should have received!

(Rant over - I'm having a bad start to the new year!) 

[plimmerian]

I logged in today and found 2 more "wills" waiting to be viewed - only they're not wills, just letters - waste of money! 

waiting to see if the other two are wills - not hopeful as 3 out of 5 have just been letters

...and still no email to say they were ready to view - not impressed! 

[Jomot]

...and still no email to say they were ready to view - not impressed! 

I ordered on 24th December and, given the bank holiday, expected a long wait but received an email on 5th Jan advising it was ready - although I didn't actually notice it (the email) for a couple of days as it went into my Junk / Spam folder, so if you haven't already you may need to check there.

[dawnsh]

A note of caution (and this might be what happened to plimmerian)

If the calendar says that the entry is for a Letter of Adminsitration, there is little point in paying for a copy of the grant as very little extra information will be given (the address of the personal representative) from what the calendar says.

A letter oif Administration is granted where there is no will.

All you'll get for £10 for a Letter of Administration is an A4 document which shows the name of the deceased, their date of death, confirmation they died intestate, the value of the estate and who the personal representative is.

Only apply for a copy of you see the word "probate"

[plimmerian]

All you'll get for £10 for a Letter of Administration is an A4 document which shows the name of the deceased, their date of death, confirmation they died intestate, the value of the estate and who the personal representative is.

Only apply for a copy of you see the word "probate"

Thank you Dawnsh - I feel into the trap - doh!

I've just logged in again to wills online and the two outstanding wills were there waiting to be downloaded (still no email to notify me and nothing in my junk folder) - yipee they are wills!

But to be honest they hardly reveal any more detail than I already know or than the letters of admin - I've seen other peoples wills they have ordered and there is a cornucopia of information and detail - my expectations were obviously too high on this occasion - it has been a worth while lesson if nothing else!

Thank you for contributing and joining me on my journey of discovery!