Are there any guidance rules on if we are allowed to attach scanned copies of wills to a family tree?
My first question would be “allowed by who?”. It there some authority out there who is deciding what I can put in my family tree?
Secondly, I am not sure what jurisdiction you are governed by but in the UK wills are public and anybody can send for copies if probate or letters of administration have been granted.
I am in the UK. Up until now I have not come across wills. I realise if a person is living that it would not be sensible (or appropriate) to attach a will. But these are for deceased persons.
RM has a built in Will fact for a reason. The only restrictions for attaching wills to your tree is of your own devising.
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Thanks for the links!
I do notice that after doing a search it does say:
“The documents are provided for personal use only; you must get the relatives’ permission if you want to publish them in any way.”
That is understandable. My tree is private and not exposed to the genral public - only invited members.
Yes, I have seen this statement but to have any real legal standing it is far too vague - what is a relative? Do they mean someone mentioned in the will? Do they mean ALL the deceased’s relatives? How far back do they consider that you should search around for relatives considering that the person may have died in 1865 or whatever. Pretty meaningless I would say.
If a person is still alive then their will won’t be in the public domain, so you wouldn’t be able to find it in the first place!
As Terry says, in the UK all wills are in the public domain from the day that probate is granted (although it takes a couple of weeks to upload them to the index). They can be ordered from the Government online for ÂŁ1.50 each, free account required (https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/). It is a second generation beta service that is not brilliant but if you persevere they will upload a pdf of the probate and will (if there is one) in a week or so. They do ask that you do not share it without the agreement of relatives but as those documents are in the public realm that is just academic. The reason they are public documents from day 1 is to ensure that all possible beneficiaries are aware of the contents (and date) of the approved will. As is apparent, a great genealogical source.
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