A phone call from the family
Someone rings to say their mother has died and she made her will with the firm. Reception asks for her name and date of birth and goes to the strongroom. The card index says the will is in box 14. Box 14 has a gap where it should be. After an hour of searching, it turns up on a fee earner's desk: they took it out months ago to check a codicil and never put it back.
The family were told the will was safe with the firm. They were right, just not in the way anyone expected.
Why storage registers fail
Many firms have wills and deeds going back decades. The register started as index cards, moved to a spreadsheet or an old database, and sometimes exists in two forms at once. Firms that took on another practice's wills often have a third list for those.
The weak point is movement. The register says where a packet lives, but nothing records when it leaves the strongroom, who has it, or why. Returning it relies on memory.
| Register format | Typical problem |
|---|---|
| Index cards | Cannot be searched by anything but the card order |
| Spreadsheet | Edited by several people, no record of changes |
| Old database | Nobody can maintain it, may not run on new machines |
| Acquired practice lists | Different format, often incomplete |
What a lost original costs
When an original will cannot be found at the moment it is needed, the family's grief is compounded and the firm's reputation takes a real hit. There may be extra work and cost to deal with a missing original, which is the last thing anyone wants.
More routinely, every retrieval takes longer than it should, and each annual check of the strongroom is a manual count against a list nobody quite trusts.
How we build a deeds and wills register
- One register: we consolidate cards (typed up or scanned), spreadsheets and old databases into one register, linked to client records in your practice management system where possible. Unmatched entries are flagged for someone to review.
- Labels on packets: each packet gets a barcode or QR label tied to its register entry and a box or shelf location.
- Movements by scan: taking a packet out means scanning it with a phone or scanner and choosing a reason; returning it means scanning again. The register always shows where each item is and who has it.
- Overdue prompts: items out longer than your firm allows trigger a reminder to the person holding them and, later, their supervisor.
- Search: staff find a will or deed by client name, former name, date of birth, address or matter, including clients from acquired practices.
- Release record: when an original is released, the register records who authorised it and to whom it went, following your firm's procedure.
What the strongroom feels like afterwards
A request for an original becomes a search and a walk to the right shelf. If the packet is out, the register says who has it. Annual checks are a scan of each box against the register rather than a manual count. New wills go into storage labelled and logged on the day they are signed.
And when a family calls, reception can answer with confidence.
Recognise your firm?
- Your wills register is on index cards or an old spreadsheet.
- You hold originals from an acquired practice on a separate list.
- Nothing records when an original leaves the strongroom.
- Finding a will can take a long time.
- Annual strongroom checks are done by hand.