An online register has been set up in Sussex to help locate wills throughout the UK and abroad.
The service has been created by Yvonne Rann from East Grinstead.
Mrs Rann worked as an assistant for solicitors around the county for more than 30 years and saw first hand the extra strain a lost will can place on a grieving family.
She said: "There are so many things to think about when someone has died and locating a will can add a heavy burden.
"I have set up the register to keep track of where wills are lodged so when they are needed they are easy for relatives to find. I have not come across any other service similar to our register and I believe it can offer peace of mind for people for at a very reasonable cost."
After a year of research into how best to implement a will register, the Centralised Record of Wills has been launched online.
Information is held in a confidential database, listing details of when a will was created and where it is being held.
Mrs Rann said: "There is a strong financial incentive to keep track of all documents relating to will production because the Crown claims about £2billion a year from unread wills."
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