The Ministry of Justice has opened a consultation on proposals to digitise all copies of post-1858 wills in England and Wales and then destroy the originals.
Civil registration of probate in England and Wales was introduced in 1858. Digital copies of wills from 1858 and after can be purchased from the government’s Find a Will website for £1.50. For many family historians, ordering their ancestors’ wills is an important part of their research.
In the consultation, the MoJ says that the proposals are necessary due to the increasing cost of storing the 110 million documents, currently about £4.5 million per year.
It proposes keeping the physical hard copies for 25 years and then destroying them, while preserving the wills of some famous historical figures.
Justice Minister Mike Freer said: “Historic wills can provide us with a unique window into the past and we want to make it as easy for amateur and professional historians alike to access these documents.
“Digitalisation allows us to move with the times and save the taxpayer valuable money, while preserving paper copies of noteworthy wills which hold historical importance.”
The consultation notes that “the Government… recognises that there may also be, firstly, an emotional relationship that the family of the testator will have with the original documents and, for want of a better term, secondly, an emotional relationship that society retains for probate matters."
However, it goes on to say: “The Government also considers that the emotional value of such original documents to relatives and to society is likely to diminish over time.”
In a press release accompanying the consultation, the Ministry of Justice said that the proposals would make accessing wills easier for “genealogists, historians and amateur family archivists”.
However, no genealogy organisations are included in the list of organisations who were sent a copy of the consultation paper.
In a statement, the Society of Genealogists said: “The Society of Genealogists is pleased to hear of intentions to make the 110 million probate files and ancillary documents more accessible and agrees these documents should be digitised for better and more convenient access. However, the track record of the Probate Service and its commercial partner Iron Mountain thus far has not shown that it can provide an efficient search and retrieval service. The claim that it could take 15-20 years to digitise the documents [made in a video released by the Ministry of Justice on the social media website X] is also disappointing. Some of these post-1858 probate documents have already been microfilmed and digital copies are made available via the FamilySearch online library catalogue.
“The Society urges the Ministry of Justice to consult widely and find a partner who can serve the needs of the genealogical and historical community to ensure the digitisation of and access to the documents is complete and efficient and at a reasonable cost to the user.
“The Society of Genealogists does NOT agree with the proposed destruction of the original documents after they have been digitised. Digitisation may provide more convenient access to documents and prevent further damage by overhandling etc. BUT Digitisation is not preservation. The documents themselves are of legal and historic interest and should be preserved as such.”
The Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) has submitted a statement opposing the proposals, saying: "AGRA condemned the proposed wilful destruction of potentially historically valuable documents and records. This would represent a major loss to the cultural and historical heritage of England and Wales."
In 2022, the Ministry of Justice took down the Find a Will website for fifteen days for an upgrade. When it was restored, there were widespread complaints from users about records being harder to find using the website’s search function.
Members of the public can give their views on the consultation on the proposals, which is open until 11.59pm GMT on 23 February 2024.
Genealogist Richard Holt has created a petition opposing the proposals on Parliament's website, which genealogists are being urged to sign.
24 May 2024 UPDATE: The Parliamentary petitions website has emailed signatories to the petition saying that all petitions will close at 00.01am on 30 May, ahead of the 2024 general election, and will not reopen after the election.
The email also said: "After the election, the new Government will have to decide whether to respond to petitions from before the election."
On 1 March 2024, after the petition passed 10,000 signatures, the Ministry of Justice published a response, saying: "This is a consultation exercise – no decisions on any of these matters have been made as yet, and we will of course listen very carefully and take into account all of the responses we receive and the suggestions that are made. The Government’s formal response will be published later this year."
