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Why you should consider storing important documents in the UK

Discover the advantages of storing your important documents in the UK, even when living abroad

Written by Matt Lawless on 4 February 2015

Moving abroad is without a doubt one of the most stressful things that you can do in your life.  We all know how very stressful a move within your home country is so, just add in the extra hassle of  having to learn new laws and customs,  the need for new visas and certificates, language barriers, lack of local knowledge, loss of family and friends to help out…. 

These potential challenges are almost enough to make you want to throw in the towel before you leave the UK.  But, thousands of people relocate every year so the challenges are surmountable and are usually seen to be worth it in the end.

Whilst you are new to a country it may be advisable to keep your important documents such as birth and marriage certificates and qualification certificates with you.  However, you do need to research in advance of leaving the UK exactly what you need to do to make these documents ‘legal’ in your new country.  The experts over at Vital Legalisation will be able to advise and help you every step of the way with this.

There will also be important documents that may be needed in the UK by your accountant such as your P60 and other financial statements.  Other documents you will need to keep safe include deeds, wills, lasting power of attorney and insurance certificates. 

Options For Safe Document Storage

All of these documents need to be in a safe place because if they do go missing you can guarantee that you will only realise they are missing when you actually need them.  Not only will this be very inconvenient but, it will be time consuming and expensive to replace them, especially if you are not resident in the UK at the time.  For these and other very good reasons it makes sense to store these documents back in the UK somewhere were they are not only safe and together but also accessible for when they are needed.

Some solicitors may offer to store your will for you in the hope that in time this will lead to more business for them.  Perhaps the bank may store your house deeds but what about your other documents?

Well, maybe you could use one of those self storage places but as you have to retrieve the documents when you need them this might not be such a convenient option if you live abroad. 

A dedicated secure vaulting service back in the UK, such as Vital Documents, would have many advantages over all of these other solutions.

Advantages Of Vaulted Storage

  • The whole family would know exactly where the 'important stuff' was being held
  • All important documents would be together
  • No danger of losing them during further moves
  • No danger of misplacing them
  • No danger of them being stolen or damaged in fire or floods
  • Access to all documents on an individual basis as required
  • 24 hour access to online scanned copies or if required they could be forwarded to financial and other professionals on your behalf

In association with

Vital Documents