In the past, the VLSB+C has held wills when we couldn’t return them to the person or the lawyer who originally held them.

After reviewing this process, we’ve agreed with the Supreme Court of Victoria to transfer all wills that we currently hold to their Probate Office.

We are now working through a transition process to collate and transfer these wills, which will be carried out over the coming months.

In situations where a will is deposited because a lawyer has died, or has stopped or is about to stop practising in Victoria, the Supreme Court Probate Office accepts the will for safekeeping at no charge. Otherwise, a fee is charged.

To deposit a will for safekeeping, submit an application to the Supreme Court Probate Office via RedCrest-Probate (you may need to create an account if you don’t already have one).

If you’re looking for a will and it’s not possible to get it from the person or the lawyer who originally held it, you can check to see if it’s held by the Supreme Court of Victoria by searching their wills register.