Searches for 'secret' wills can be made online

Requests can be made once whoever drew up the will dies

Searches for secret wills can now be made online, the Ministry of Justice said on Tuesday, eliminating a manual process which used to take two to three weeks. 

“Last year alone, over 13,000 requests were submitted for searches relating to secret wills. These figures show how essential this service is. Today, thanks to digitalisation, we are moving from a process that took weeks to one that takes only a few minutes,” Justice Minister Jonathan Attard told a conference.

Unlike a public will, a secret will is not registered in the Public Registry and its existence remains unknown until the person who drew it up passes away. Only after death can an application be made to verify whether a secret will exist, and if the search is positive, a lawyer or notary may request its publication in accordance with the law.

With the new online service, citizens and professionals can submit requests from their office or home. The certificate with the result will be issued immediately, the ministry said.

 

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