We Need To Keep Recent Wills Private

Legislation is a patchwork quilt of statutes and laws that attempts to do the best for the ‘common good’. Its imperfections may be many and that is why it is a plastic, ever-changing beast. However, am I alone in thinking that changes should be made to plug the holes that impinge upon genealogical research and the privacy of living relatives?

With the recent carrot-dangling of the (unusual) 85 per cent price reduction for wills, doubtless we have all been stampeding to our keyboards to purchase them, particularly those of more peripheral ancestors. For those wills from the dim and distant past, I am happy that these should be made freely available for genealogical research. What I cannot understand is why, in this privacy-paranoid age, anyone can order a will from recent times. Not only is this an intrusion into a late loved one’s financial secrets, but the will often lists the names and addresses of living relatives to whom the bequests are made.

I find it extraordinarily distressing. Why cannot access to recent wills be protected along similar lines to the military records’ protection? Surely one should prove one’s relationship to the deceased? Should there be a higher financial barrier to deter the idly curious (or identity thieves)? I cannot fathom why

such sensitive material is so readily available. Do others think that this should be tightened up? Anthony Morgan, by email

EDITOR REPLIES: I think you have an excellent point Anthony. Should we be able to see (for just £1.50) how much someone has inherited from a recently deceased family member, including personal details? What do other readers think?