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Project Will est. 2009
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Custodian · will checking & deposit

Checked. Recorded. Lodged.

Every will is checked for correct signing, dating and witnessing before it goes anywhere. Then it is lodged with HM Courts and Tribunals Service, and the certificate of deposit comes back to your client to keep.

A one-off £79 for that will, charged to the estate planner, who sets their own retail price. The £24 HMCTS deposit fee is included. There is no monthly deduction to explain to anybody.

→  For estate planners What we check

This is not really storage. It's a second pair of eyes on the will.

A will only works if it was executed properly. Custodian checks that the will has been signed, dated and witnessed correctly, records it and the case against the client, and then lodges it somewhere that outlives everybody involved.

The check is the part that matters. The deposit is what makes it findable afterwards, and the certificate is what proves it happened.

For context on price: several providers charge in the region of £750 for lifetime storage of a will. The HM Courts and Tribunals Service deposit fee is £24, one-off, and withdrawing a will from HMCTS is free.

What £79 covers.

  • 01The execution check. Every will is checked for correct signing, dating and witnessing before it is lodged. See exactly what we check.
  • 02A scanned copy and full case record added to the client's WILLO profile.
  • 03The £24 HMCTS deposit fee, paid by us as part of the £79.
  • 04Posting and admin handled end to end, including recorded delivery.
  • 05The HMCTS certificate of deposit logged in WILLO and sent to the client to keep.
  • 06An executor card for the client's file: reference, location, and who to contact.
  • 07A one-page instruction sheet — if you ever make a new will, withdraw this one first. It is free, and here is how.

If your planner ceases trading and the will is on the base product, the will is unaffected — it stays safely with HM Courts and Tribunals Service and can be withdrawn free of charge at any time. What ends is the ongoing support. Custodian Plus is what keeps someone standing behind the plan.

£79 is a one-off for this will. If your client later replaces it, the new will needs a fresh £24 deposit and new admin, so a replacement is charged again. Nothing recurs on the base product.

Two things you can buy.

Custodian · the base product

£79one-off, per will · ex VAT

Charged to you. You set your own retail price to the client. Everything in the list above is included, and nothing recurs.

  • One will£79
  • Two mirror wills, together£139
Partner pricing & process

Custodian Plus · optional

£19a year, per will · ex VAT

Not a storage fee. It buys continuity, withdrawal management, duplicate protection, and a scheduled annual contact with the client that routes any work straight back to you.

  • One will£19 / year
  • A household, both wills£29 / year
How Plus works

The things you should know before you sell it.

  • CoverageThe HM Courts and Tribunals Service deposit service covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland need a different route — tell us and we will point you at it.
  • CouplesMirror wills are two testators and two deposits, so HMCTS charges £24 each. Submitted together they are £139 rather than £158.
  • TurnaroundAllow around four weeks from us receiving the will to the certificate reaching your client — our check and postage either side of roughly two weeks at HMCTS.
  • If the check failsNothing is lodged. The will goes back to you with a written note of what is wrong, and the fee is held against the resubmission rather than refunded.
  • WithdrawalWithdrawing a will from HMCTS is free, and takes around four weeks. Please do not promise a client it is faster.
  • The fee£24 of the £79 is the HMCTS deposit fee. The rest covers the check, the pack, postage and admin.
  • ReplacementsA new will means a new deposit. Withdraw the old one first so there is never more than one will in storage.
  • IndependenceCustodian is operated by Project Will Ltd. HM Courts and Tribunals Service does not endorse, approve or accredit it.

Are you a client, asking about a will already lodged?

If you or a family member had a will deposited through Custodian and you need the reference, the location, or help withdrawing it, send us the details below and we will come back to you.

If you are an executor and the person has died, say so in the message and we will treat it as urgent.

Custodian is not a law firm and cannot give you legal advice. For anything about what the will means, speak to the firm that wrote it — or we will tell you who that was.

Ask about a will

Offer it on your next case.

Register your firm and we will set you up. There is no minimum volume and nothing to commit to up front.

→  Register your firm Read the FAQs