Assistance with locating Christchurch wills

The New Zealand Law Society has established a temporary service to assist Christchurch lawyers and residents with locating wills where the earthquake damage has created difficulties.

Damage to a number of lawyers’ offices in central Christchurch has caused some problems for relatives of people who died at the time of the earthquake. Lawyers typically hold wills along with other documents such as deeds, and the CBD cordon plus office damage means it has been difficult to locate these.

New Zealand does not have a central wills registry, and lawyers acting for an estate normally advertise in legal newsletters and magazines to inquiry if any law firm holds a will for the deceased.

The New Zealand Law Society has offered to collect any inquiries about the location of a will where it is directly related to problems caused by the Christchurch earthquake. The Law Society will circulate details of such inquiries to Christchurch lawyers as long as there is a need for such a service.

Anyone wanting to use the service may email details to quakehelp@lawsociety.org.nz. The email should give the name of the deceased, date of death and last known address, and a contact email address.

© New Zealand Law Society 2008