Genealogy Chat

I sent off for a will to london on the 23rd August ..
on the 2nd of Sept the cheque was cashed but i still havent recieved the will .
does anyone know how long it takes to come through .
I found on Ancestry that an great uncle had left a will .
Thanks
Hazelx
Edit.. i will look in later visitors have arrived ..thanks

I'm not too sure about this as I am not talking from experience however, if it took 10 days for the application to arrive and be processed then perhaps this is the kind of time period you could be looking at for it to arrive.

Just a thought?

Janette :)

I don't know how long that office normally takes but it's much better to apply to one of the smaller Probate Offices - they're much quicker!

I sent for 2 wills a few weeks ago. Money came out of account on 26th August. According to the site, when I ordered them they try to send them out within 21 days. My 21 days is up tomorrow, so fingers crossed. lol

Thank you everyone ,
so i will have to be patient then lol
Hazelx

I'm glad Hazel asked this. I ordered three wills on 12th August and asked at the bank on Monday if the cheque had been cashed. It was cashed on 19th August and I am still waiting. However I think I remember seeing on these boards a long time ago that it can take up to about 6 weeks and I expect they have got busier since Ancestry put the Probate Calendar on their website.

Kath. x

Hazel,

I had a will back by return of post from the Birmingham Probate Office, before they had time to clear the cheque. Very impressive service.

Peter

WOW Peter,
that was a speedy service lol
most of my family come from london so i thought
that if i sent to the london probate office i might get it a bit quicker ..
But it looks like i'm going to have to wait .


Kathleen you have been waiting much longer than me .
But your probably right about them being busy so fingers crossed
we wont have to wait too long

Stinkermurdock,
let us know when you get it ..

Hazelx

I ordered 3 from York and the cheques cleared through my bank on 25th Aug. I am waiting in anticipation to see who got the money!!

Hope people will report back when they receive the wills, particularly Kath, who seems to be a week ahead of me.

Elisabeth x

will do lady cutie. think I might have to start stalking the postie lol

I have just spoken to York Probate Sub-Registry after trying most of the morning to get through. They said they try to send out wills within 3 weeks but they are very busy and it is taking about a month.

They said they were sending out a large batch today so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I think they are in the same position as the GRO were a few years ago when "Who Do You Think You Are?" became popular and lots of extra people started tracing their ancestors and ordering certificates. I think the GRO had to take on extra staff at the time. Hopefully the Probate Registry will do the same.

Kath. x

Kathleen

I remember it well....

6 weeks wait for a marriage certificate from the GRO thanks to the first series of WDYTYA :-)

Chris

Well , i'll just have to be patient .
had the post this afternoon , no will ..
but got my gas bill ..lol


Chris, yes i remember that i think i waited for about 5 weeks ..
for my grandmothers marriage cert .
Hazelx

Hi Chris

I was in exactly the same position as you. I had searched forever for the death of my grandfather (who had left his family in the 1920's) and then by accident came across a marriage for his name when I was looking for something else.

Sent off for the certificate and I was almost past myself by the time it arrived 6 weeks later. Really worth the wait though as I am now in contact with my father's half sister (granddad's daughter from his second marriage). No one in the family knew of her existence.

Kath. x

I sent off for my gt. grandfather's will 18 August from Canada with an international money order. It was the London office because that's where the will was probated. Like others I am waiting, not very patiently! Will let you know when it arrives.

Hazel,

As I understand it you can request a will from any probate office no matter where the will was proved. In my (impressively speedy) case the will was proved in Peterborough but I applied to the Birmingham office and received an instant reply, that was actually posted in Stoke on Trent!

I would therefore urge people not to make automatic applications to London or York as they will be oversubscribed. Choose a less prominent office from the HMCS list.

Peter

Thanks Margaret ,
it will be intresting to know
how long everyone has had to wait .
Hazelx

Yes your right Peter ,
I was going to apply at the Manchester office but thought
seeing as he had lived in london i would apply there it might be quicker lol ..but if i need it again i will send to Manchester as i think that is
the nearest one to me ..i'm in North Wales .
Hazelx

Postman just been and I have two of the three wills - cheques went through my bank on 25th.

One doesn't tell me anything much, but the other has knocked down a brickwall for me! I have been searching for Great Uncle Alfred, the last of Granddad's siblings for years and there he is, mentioned in the will, as 'being in India'. He had disappeared after a letter dated 1899, and this will is dated 1917, so I shall now look into all of that.

Happy Elisabeth x

Our postman's just been - yet again no wills :-(

Kath. x