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A: Attorney's Will Registry is a worldwide registry of wills, trusts, and other legal documents. Locating a will or trust can be difficult. Which is the most current document? Has anyone destroyed or changed it? Which attorney drew it up or kept a copy? These problems, and more are common. Attorney's Will Registry makes the solution to these problems simple. Register the document so that it can be found.
A: Anyone can. The general public, attorneys, trust administrators, etc. Registering is a simple process and is available to anyone wishing to register a document.
A: No, the registration process is simple and can be completed online or by downloading the offline registration form and sending it to AWR. Four areas are required in order to complete the registration.
Set up an account (FREE).
Tell us who the document is for along with their address and date of birth.
Tell us who should be contacted for information regarding the document.
Tell us the name of the document and when it was written.
After these steps you will be instructed to enter your payment information. After payment has been verified, you will be allowed to print out a "Certificate of Registration", which documents your registration.
A: No. Since we do not hold a copy of the document, no one has access to any information contained in the document.
A: The fee for registering a document is $15.00. For those who wish to register large quantities of documents (100 or more), we offer a substantial savings. Please contact us for more details.
A: In order to initiate a search, you must sign into your account (or create a new one - free of charge), and enter the name of the person you are searching for and their date of birth. If we have a match, a charge of $10.00 will be made in order to release the information of the person who has knowledge of the wills whereabouts. Sometimes more than one name matches, and in such cases, we will release the contact information of all the matching names. If no match is found, no charge will be made.
A: Yes, certain information may be changed. This is done by signing into your account and clicking on "My Documents" or "My Clients". A list of all the documents registered under that account will appear. However, only certain information may be changed such as the contact person or the address of the principal party. The origination date of the document cannot be altered. A new document will need to be registered.
A: Presently there is no intent to systematically delete any information.
A: The simple answer is that we don't hold the document or any information contained in the document. The only information we require about your client is name, address, and date of birth. Those searching for a document must know the person's name and date of birth. When we indicate that we have a match, we do not reveal anything about your client. We only release the name of the person who has been designated as a "Contact person". That way there is always a middleman between the searcher and your client.
A: No, once you have set up an account, you need only sign into the account once to register as many documents as you wish.
A: "My Documents" is a feature of AWR that allows you to view a spreadsheet of all the documents you have registered. You may view, sort, and edit some information just by clicking on the column headings. This feature is especially convenient when you retire or pass your law practice on to another attorney. The contact information of all your documents may be edited.
A: "My Clients" is a similar feature of the web site. When your client's address or other information changes, it is easy to update the information.
A: No. To maintain the integrity of the system and the reliability of the information, only certain information relating to the location of the individual or the document may be easily made. Extensive changes would be considered a new document.
A: No, AWR will assist you in getting all your documents on the database. Just prepare an Excel spreadsheet with the principal's name, address (including city, state, and zip code), and date of birth. Also include the contact information for each document. If it is the same for all the documents, please indicate. This information can be faxed or emailed to us. Please let us know that it is coming, so that we can watch for it and advise you that we have received it. AWR will register all the documents for you.
A: Absolutely. We offer a 33% discount for those registering 100 or more documents. For those with 500 or more documents, we offer a 66% discount.
A: Should you retire or pass your law practice on to another attorney, it is simple to change the name and address to the new contact person. Simply click on "My Documents" and edit the contact information.
Registration or Search for a Will with AWR may:
MAKE A WILL'S EXISTENCE KNOWN TO THE WORLD WITHOUT MAKING THE DOCUMENT ITSELF OR ITS CONTENTS A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD. Lawyers know that many wills are never carried out because the very existence of the will itself remains unknown, the will is never found or is never produced, or may be maliciously or accidentally destroyed.
PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE LEGAL EFFECT OF A WILL. Registration and/or search (by imposing its "knew or should have know" factor) may assist in enforcement of a valid will by overcoming or strengthening barriers.
PROTECT AGAINST OR AID THE CHALLENGE OF COMPETING, ONGOING, OR PROPOSED ACTIONS. Interest parties of a will registered with Attorney's Will Registry may more easily sustain their own probate action; or, also, challenge other conflicting, ongoing, proposed, and final, ordinarily non-appealable probate actions. A probate court may be mandated to reconsider based upon express or implied knowledge of the existence of a will (facilitated by registration with AWR).
FACILITATE NOTICE; HELP FULFILL "DUE DILIGENCE" REQUIREMENTS. In a probate action that is designed to protect the innocent (due to incapacities of youth, age, mental capacity, or death) certain people are entitled to be notified while others have an obligation to give notice. Registration of a document facilitates the due diligence to give that notice and enhance the requirement to receive notice, simply by increasing the awareness of the document.
See AWR printed articles with endnotes for authority supporting the above.
Registration of search for a TRUST with AWR may:
FULFILL UNIFORM AND STATUTORY CODE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS WITHOUT MAKING THE DOCUMENT ITSELF OR ITS CONTENTS A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD. The Uniform Trust Code and its adopted provisions of the Uniform Probate Code, may require trust registration even though the chosen jurisdiction has no specific registration statute. Otherwise the trust or the trustee may unwittingly become subject to unforeseen or unfavorable jurisdictions, removal of trustee, and/or denial of trustee compensation. But, privacy is compromised if the whole trust document is made public through registration. AWR does not hold a copy of the document. Successful searches only disclose reference to a chosen designated person or party thus preserving privacy.
AFFECT TRUST ADMINISTRATION, PROTECTING TRUST ASSETS, BENEFICIARIES, AND TRUSTEES. In trust administrations, knowledge of a document (including "reason to know", "would know by exercising reasonable diligence", or "would have discovered upon reasonable inquiry") has a significant effect as specifically contained in many provisions - i.e. methods and waiver of notice; appointment of representatives; limitation in the contest of trusts; collection of trust property; obtaining a beneficiary's consent, release, or ratification; the protection of persons dealing with trustees; and the limitation of actions against a trustee, to name a few. Additionally, registration protects a person and the trust from other adverse administrations by making their identity or location reasonably ascertainable - otherwise notice or consent requirements as to them would not apply.
BE ESSENTIAL TO CONSTRUCTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF ALL TRUSTS, INCLUDING PRE-EXISTING TRUSTS AND REVOCABLE TRUSTS. A state's specific rules on construction of wills, whatever they may be, may also apply to the construction of trusts, including trusts executed prior to the creation of the Code. Without knowledge of a trust (or trustee's) location, substantial uncertainty may exist as to the construction, validation, interpretation, and enforcement of trusts.
REINFORCE THE SELECTED JURISDICTION, VENUE, AND CONTROLLING LAW OF THE TRUST. Central registration with AWR, though not a complete panacea to potential conflicts, at least, gives notice to the world of a source for the trust's location, an element important for appropriate determination.
LIMIT AND PROTECT AGAINST LIABILITY, REMOVAL, AND DENIAL OF TRUSTEE COMPENSATION. Registration with a non-jurisdictional, searchable registry such as AWR, though not specifically identified in the code, is evidence of a Grantor's or Trustee's good faith effort to comply with the intent and purpose of the Code (which imposes a duty to register which cannot be overcome by trust provisions) especially in jurisdictions that may not specifically require nor provide for registration. Otherwise, the Trustee may have submitted to personal jurisdiction wherever the trust could have been registered, and, makes the trustee subject to removal and denial of trustee compensation.
See AWR printed article with endnotes for authority supporting the above.
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