Your will tells them what you wanted. After Me makes sure they can act on it.
A will is the foundation of any estate plan. It grants authority. It names executors. It records your wishes for everything you leave behind. But a will sitting in a solicitor's filing cabinet — unknown, unfindable, or inaccessible in the days immediately after death — cannot do what it was designed to do.
After Me stores a copy of your will alongside everything your executor needs to act immediately. AES-256 encrypted on your device. Accessible via a single QR code. No passwords. No accounts. No searching through filing cabinets at the worst possible moment.
The Delivery Problem
The Wills Act 1837 — still the cornerstone of English succession law — requires a will to be signed and witnessed. It says nothing about how your family finds it.
The Administration of Estates Act 1925 governs what happens when no valid will is located. It follows a rigid statutory order — regardless of your actual intentions. Spouses, children, parents, in sequence. Unmarried partners receive nothing by default.
In Re Estate of Davis [2018], a handwritten will found unsigned in a drawer left a family with nothing legally enforceable despite clear written intentions.
The law has been remarkably stable. The chaos surrounding wills has not. After Me solves the delivery problem the law has never addressed.
Why Store Your Will Digitally?
Traditional will storage has problems:
- Solicitor's office: Your family needs to contact them, potentially pay retrieval fees, and may face delays during an already difficult time.
- Home filing cabinet: Easy to forget where it is, or for it to be misplaced during house moves or decluttering.
- Safe deposit box: Requires probate and specific authority to access — which can take weeks or months.
- Cloud storage: Convenient, but most cloud providers can read your files. Do you want your will sitting unencrypted on someone else's server?
How After Me Compares
| After Me | Solicitor | Home filing | Cloud | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military-grade encryption | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Family access without password | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Directions to original stored | ✓ | — | ✗ | ✗ |
| No ongoing costs | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Company cannot read your will | ✓ | — | — | ✗ |
| Works without internet | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
How It Works
- Scan or import your will — Use the built-in scanner or import a PDF. Stored in the Legal category with AES-256-GCM encryption.
- Add a directions document — A simple note telling your executor exactly where the original is held and the National Will Register reference if applicable.
- Create your Family Kit — One encrypted .afterme file and a printed QR Key Card. Takes about two minutes.
- Tell your executor — They scan the QR code when the moment comes. The vault opens in under 60 seconds.
What After Me Stores
- A scanned copy of your signed will for immediate reference
- The name and address of the solicitor holding the original
- Your National Will Register reference number if registered
- Your executor's name, contact details, and instructions
- A directions document — where every original is held and with whom
- Supporting documents — trust deeds, letters of wishes, funeral instructions
- Personal messages to your family in your own words
LPA Storage — store your Lasting Power of Attorney alongside your will.
Ready to store your will securely?
Free to start. 5 documents free. Lifetime one-time payment £79.99.
Get StartedRelated Articles
Disclaimer: After Me is a secure document storage and delivery tool. It is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We recommend consulting a solicitor to draft or review your will. After Me ensures your family can access the documents you've stored when they need them.