Your solicitor file - can you simply take it away? - Completed!

justagirl

If your solicitor currently holds 'your file' (only property/will transactions)- can you simply request your file from them to take away and hold yourself until you need it next i.e. when you sell your house/make a change to your will?. . or does it have to be requested by and held by another solicitor (with your permission)....?

Thank you.

grumpytrousers

You can have it. You might have to sign a document to say that "I justagirl confirm that i have taken my file from the office, that it contains
a) my will
b) deeds to my house
c) map to the lost city of atlantis
and that I understand that joe bloggs soliciors will not be liable if they go awol"

if you owe fees, you won't be able to get file until you're all square...

justagirl

grumpytrousers wrote:

You can have it. You might have to sign a document to say that "I justagirl confirm that i have taken my file from the office, that it contains
a) my will
b) deeds to my house
c) map to the lost city of atlantis
and that I understand that joe bloggs soliciors will not be liable if they go awol"

if you owe fees, you won't be able to get file until you're all square...

Thank you grumpytrousers ...should I wait until all the papers have been filed (don;'t know technical term for this - basically we are remortgaging and its 'nearly' finalised and I understand something has to be filed, new mortgage I assume, and we'll be notified of this when it happens - usually take couple of months....) ..... so that my current solicitor has completed his end of the bargain so to speak ...?.. (hope makes some sense)... Thanks so much.

Lastly, is it a risky thing to take your own file/ will another solicitor want or need it (I reckon this is probably a silly question of mine)...I don't have any secret bermude banks a/cs or anything - just house purchase/remortage/wills... thanks.

grumpytrousers

well - you'd have nothing to benefit by havnig the file under your own bed if your solicitor needs access to it. for instance, if your solicitor has to register a mortgage on your property then, while it should be straightfoward, there might be an issue or two, for instance a date on a deed might have to be clarified, etc and so it's beneficial that he has access to it and doesn't have to give you a shout each time so that you can drop it in to him.

is there, if you don't mind me asking, a particular reason you'd like to have the file in your gaff; in a straightforward conveyance, it'd tend to make more sense to leave the file with the solicitor for good. If you decide that you want to sell the house in 5 years time and don't want to use that solicitor, fine and dandy - tell new boy to get the file from the former solicitor and away you go.

oh - and on a personal note...DON'T keep your original will in your house. Have a photocopy there; have a million photocopies there, but if the original goes missing you're up the sh*tter. Leave the original with your solicitor, or with A solicitor. Or a bank. Let your intended executor know where it is, but don't have it knocking about; if i've learned ONE thing from coronation St, it's that mucking about with original wills can be dangerous!

dats_right

Generally, once you have paid the solicitors fees then you are entitled to your file. However, in the case of a mortgage or re-mortgage the title documents will be held as security by your bank/building society and not the solicitor, so that all the solicitor will hold on file will be largely meaningless correspondence and maybe photocopies of certain title documents (so there really isn't not much point in you having this). A solicitor is also obliged to keep a conveyancing file for a certain number of years ( I think it may be 12, but many store them for a lot longer), so I'm not sure if they will hand over the original or a copy of their file, but as stated there really isn't much point as the important documents are maintained by the financial institution.

As regards a will, once you sign a release stating that you are taking possession of the will and that you assume responsibility for it a solicitor will release the will to you.

justagirl

grumpytrousers wrote:

is there, if you don't mind me asking, a particular reason you'd like to have the file in your gaff

LOL!:) no I don't have any reason to have my file in my house!! I was just so vexed with my solicitor today I wondered what my options were, I simply don't want anything to do with them anymore as they are obnoxious!!

Thank you so much for your answer, and I take what you said on board about the will - good point. Thanks again grumpytrousers.

justagirl

dats_right wrote:

Generally, once you have paid the solicitors fees then you are entitled to your file.QUOTE]

......Yep, I'm all paid up to date with my solicitor....

Thanks for your reply and explanatino dats_right - very much appreciate it......!

James_sb

dats_right wrote:

A solicitor is also obliged to keep a conveyancing file for a certain number of years ( I think it may be 12, but many store them for a lot longer.

There are in fact only obliged to keep it for 12 years, after which the Law Society allow them to destroy the file. Storage of files is a big issue for solicitors. Once your re-mortgage file is complete, depending on the solicitors, it would usually go into 'Closed Boxes' and stored either in house or in the law societies storage facilities (Which costs money) for 12 years. After which they can be detroyed. Incidently this makes conveyances for houses that haven't changed hands since before 1940 more awkward as I learned recently..

Point is, you can have your file once everything is complete in it. Solicitors aren't allowed close a file though until all things are complete. Undertakings are discharged and monetary sums are complete, you will not get the file before this, but you can ask for a photocopy. When you do get the file, the solicitors will keep a copy (I'm not sure if they supposed to or allowed to, but they will as insurance for them, if the law society takes them up on any incomplete aspets, they need proof all the undertakings were discharged, etc..)

As it stands at the end of a re-mortgage, you will get correspondence between bank, solicitor, you, remains of a mortgage pack, and updated folio/file plan, copy of mortage, so mostly useless stuff. And depending on the banking institution, your solicitors and the land registry, you may be waiting for more than a year before you get your file complete.

You don't need your file. And it can be taken from the solicitors if you wnat to change solicitors later.