NAFD adds Will search service to benefits package

The NAFD has teamed up with Data Certainty, a company endorsed by the Law Society, to make its Certainty.co.uk Will search service available to members and their clients.

Certainty.co.uk operates an accredited Will search service for the legal profession and charities, which is also used by insurance companies and financial institutions and is now available to funeral directors as a benefit of membership of the NAFD.

It is estimated that up to 300,000 people a year die intestate, either because the family presumes that the deceased didn’t make a Will or because it cannot be found. This statistic is borne out by Certainty’s own research, in which 67% of people admitted they do not know where their parents’ Wills are located, while in another survey, 98% of solicitors surveyed held Wills where the testator had died, yet the surviving family was unaware that a Will existed.

Conducting a Will search through Certainty takes about 60 seconds, costs around £25 plus VAT and substantially increases the chances of finding a Will. The company searches by checking its register – which has up to one Will added to it every eight seconds – and interlinking with solicitors throughout the country by sending an instant ‘missing Will’ alert when a Will search is implemented.

“Since a Will often incorporates a letter of last wishes, this is important for the next-of-kin who want to be sure they are getting things right when making arrangements,” says Alan Slater.

“Searching for a Will is an important ‘end-of-life’ process that funeral directors can now assist with and through this new benefit of membership we are reiterating the NAFD’s commitment to providing ‘best practice’ through the provision of services which bereaved families will find extremely valuable.”