Nearly 200,000 people struggle to find the true value of wills

More than 175,000 people find it difficult to track down all assets listed in the wills of loved ones, according to research conducted by Willsandassets.co.uk.

The nationwide survey found 31 per cent of people who have lost loved ones in the last 10 years have found it difficult to find all of their assets.

It is estimated that on average, the value of assets lost is £9,700 per case which equates to £175 million unclaimed; however 12 per cent of those affected believe the value of lost assets could be in excess of £20,000.

Stephen Foden from Willsandassets.co.uk said: “No one wants to think about what will happen when they die but failing to do so can leave loved ones with significant problems and stress at an already very tough time.

“With more than 175,000 people a year struggling to sort out loved ones’ finances there is clearly a need for better planning and our service provides a single secure place to store wills and to detail what financial assets there are and how they can be found.”

A large part of the problem is due to people failing to draw up wills, research has shown that just 49 per cent of people have wills, this figure increases to 79 per cent among those aged over 65. A further problem is that wills are not being updated with only 36 per cent updated within the last 2 years which rises to 37 per cent for over 65s.

People in the North East are the least likely to have wills with just 36 per cent and those in the South East are the most likely with 55 per cent having wills. The survey also revealed that people in Wales are the most likely to have updated their wills within the last two years.

The research conducted by Willsandassets.co.uk found 39 per cent of those who have lost loved ones in the past 10 years have spent £2,250 on average on solicitors and other adviser, making the cost of tracing assets extremely costly.

Willsandassets.co.uk offers unique online national registry which provides a secure place for people to store the details of their assets, wills and final instructions to make it easier for loved ones after a death.

The service is free to register wills and charges £12 a year to update and store details of assets.

Willsandassets.co.uk donates 5 per cent of its revenues to charity.