Jen and I are very excited to announce a project that has been a long time in coming… WillCheck.ca!
We can’t count the number of phone calls we get from members of the public or lawyers looking to find if a will exists. In other provinces there are different solutions to help with this issue that run by different organizations, but we found that in Ontario we were sorely lacking!
So with the help of a FOLA Legal Innovation Award, we set out to see what we could do. We launched the result, Will Check, at our Solicitors conference a couple weeks ago, and got some great feedback!
So what is Will Check and how will it help? In summary:
- Will Check is a wills registry to store the location information for wills (not the wills themselves), curated by the CCLA Library.
- If we get a request for a will, ideally we can look up the lawyer who holds the original of that will. We only provide the contact information of that lawyer, not any information about the will itself.
- Currently requests and submissions can only be made by members of the LSUC.
- We are beginning the project focused for those who practice in the East Region.
- The site features simple forms to fill out, making registering wills quick and easy.
- Sample release available to get client approval.
We will be continually improving and hopefully expanding based on feedback, and are optimistic that this will become an invaluable resource for solicitors who practice in the area of wills and estates. If you have any comments, we’d love to hear them! Let us know.