Executive summary
- If a deceased loved one created a will, finding this document is important for informing the estate administration process and ensuring their wishes are upheld.
- Some steps you can take to find out if someone has a will include searching through their personal records, consulting family members, consulting a private investigator, and more.
- If someone dies and does not leave a will, then their assets will likely have to be distributed through a process called intestate succession.
- Consult a skilled probate administration attorney to help you with finding a will and offer support in navigating the probate process afterward.
Introduction
A will is an important piece of the estate administration process—without one, assets may be distributed to a deceased person’s successors without the decedent’s input and wishes being known. If you know or suspect a deceased loved one left a will, it’s important to find the document so that you know what their wishes were, their interests can be upheld beyond their lifetime, and their intended beneficiaries can secure their rightful inheritance of property or money.
A will is a matter of public record unless those records are sealed by the court.
However, the will is usually not public record until it has been submitted to probate, so, if it has not yet been found, finding where the decedent left it may be a difficult, tedious process.
Fortunately, if you are a beneficiary, heir, or personal representative for an estate, you do have the agency to take a few key steps to find the will. Your options range from taking a look through their documents to getting a professional involved so that you can cover all the bases for the sake of effectively guiding probate.
Steps To Find Out If Someone Has a Will
If you are unable to determine if a deceased loved one has a will after they have passed, you should do your due diligence to find out whether one exists somewhere. All of the following steps are worth considering, ranging from simple steps to more demanding if you cannot immediately find an estate plan.
Step 1: Start with the Individual’s Personal Records
You should begin your search with the least difficult steps up to the steps that involve the most difficulty. The first step that requires the least amount of stress and legwork involves simply searching through the personal belongings and records in their home to see if you can find the document itself.
Some of the first areas worth searching include:
- Safes
- Filing cabinets
- A personal office
- Other secure storage locations
- Other areas of the home where the decedent spent significant time
If you are unable to find a physical copy, you should also look through the decedent’s digital records. Search through files on the decedent’s computer or any cloud document storage platforms. Review or comb through their email for any mentions of legal documents that should be used to guide estate administration. Even if you cannot find the will directly, these records may be able to offer more insight into where it may be located.
Keep in mind that there are some people who have resorted to protecting their will by keeping it in the last place you’d look. For example, our attorneys have seen instances where a person’s will was found in the refrigerator or even left with a neighbor—so it’s important to keep the options open in your search.
Step 2: Reach Out to Family Members or Close Friends
If you didn’t have any luck searching through the decedent’s records. The next crucial step should be to reach out to their family members or close friends. Trusted individuals may have had discussions with the decedent about estate planning and may be able to provide insight into the existence or location of a will.
Consider who the decedent was most close to and which confidants they may have had these discussions with so you can refine your search. Signing a valid will requires two witnesses, so there’s a chance that the decedent’s close friends may have information from serving as these witnesses.
Even if trusted contacts do not know exactly where the will is, they may be able to provide information that will help you get closer to the answer. Asking tactful questions may help you gather more valuable information.
Some valuable questions to consider include:
- Do you remember any discussions about the decedent leaving a will?
- Did the decedent discuss their estate plans openly?
- Did the decedent provide you with any documents to watch over?
- Did the decedent have any special locations where they left important documents?
- Did the decedent mention having a safety deposit box?
- Did the decedent have an attorney or financial advisor that they met with regularly?
Step 3: Contact the Individual’s Attorney
A decedent’s attorney is a valuable resource to consult when searching for a lost will—attorneys often play a part in helping clients draft and store estate plans and support in navigating the estate planning process, so if a will exists, they will likely have knowledge of it.
To find the decedent’s attorney, consider looking through their personal documents to look for an attorney’s business cards or search through their email or phone communications if you have access. In some cases, an attorney may have even reached out to family members for input in estate planning, so comb through your own past email and other communications to verify if you have had contact with any attorneys.
An attorney has a legal and ethical obligation to disclose a will’s existence, as it’s their fiduciary duty to ensure that the best interests of their client and their estate are upheld. This duty means they will be a valuable resource in assisting you if they have more information.
Even if you are unable to locate the individual’s estate planning attorney, oftentimes, any other attorneys the decedent knew or interacted with may have valuable information pertaining to the decedent’s interactions with other attorneys by way of referrals previously given to the decedent.
Step 4: Contact Their Accountant or Financial Advisor
Another valuable resource is an individual’s accountant or financial advisor. Accountants and financial advisors often have valuable insight to provide during estate planning, especially regarding asset management. An advisor’s input often shapes an individual’s estate planning, how they structure it, and what information they may include in their will, so they would likely be aware of a will if one exists.
Similar to searching for a lawyer, consider looking through the decedent’s email correspondence to see if you can find any information about whether they had an accountant or financial advisor. You should also consider checking their appointments or digital calendar to see if you can find information about any meetings they’ve had and with whom.
Step 5: Check with Local Probate Courts
In some cases, individuals may file their will with the probate court to ensure that their estate plans are accounted for when it’s time to administer their estate. If a will has already been filed with a probate court, there is a likelihood that you may find a will in public records. However, filing requirements vary by jurisdiction, so some counties will not allow for a will to be submitted until after an individual has died.
You can check public records for your loved one’s will either in person at the county court, online, or by mail with the superior court of the county where the decedent lived before their death and would have filed their will. However, these steps are easier if you have a specific case number for a will that has already entered probate. In cases where you are unsure if a will exists and you do not have a case or probate court file number, you should look in person or online.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you can take the following steps:
- In person, you can bring a valid form of identification to the county government office or court and either use a kiosk to look up or seek the support of a county clerk.
- Online, you can search in the court’s public portal to view records on file
Step 6: Consult with Financial Institutions or Banks
In some cases, an individual will have rented a safety deposit box at their bank or financial institution to store their will in a safe location. If you know where they did their banking, you can reach out to the local branch of the decedent’s bank to find out if they may have had a safety deposit box.
Keep in mind that many banks advise against storing a will in a safety deposit box because it’s often sealed unless an executor has been appointed by the probate court. Still, it’s worth a look. To access a safety deposit, you will likely need to present documentation to prove that you are not attempting to commit fraud and have a legitimate reason for asking to access someone’s safety deposit box.
Some of the important documents include:
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- A letter from an executor or estate administrator appointed by the probate court, if the process has begun without a will
- An affidavit proving your identity and relationship to the deceased
- Your identification to prove yourself as an heir or successor to the deceased.
Every bank has different policies and requirements, so you should reach out for more accurate information. Under certain circumstances, banks will let certain individuals search safety deposit boxes for the sole purpose of determining if a will exists within it. However, some may require a court order to access the deposit box, which you may be able to obtain by petitioning the probate court.
If you are listed as a beneficiary on the decedent’s bank account, you may have an easier time. In any case, a probate administration attorney may be able to provide guidance and help you navigate these steps.
Step 7: Consider Professional Services for Will Searches
If you’ve exhausted all of the above options, there is still the potential that a professional service may be able to help you. A professional may be able to use their experience to perform a more advanced search and find more information even if you cannot.
Consider some of the following professional services that may be able to assist with your search:
- Registry service – A registry service may have the will on file if it was registered by the person who created it, and the registry service can help you track it down either in their database or probate records online.
- A probate and estate administration attorney – An attorney can also serve as a helpful resource in helping you follow through with your options to track down a will or other estate planning documents that can be used to understand an individual’s intentions.
- Private investigator – A private investigator can take steps to search for a will and whether it exists. A private investigator will likely follow a similar process to the steps above but their experience and connections may provide them more experience.
What to Do If a Will Cannot Be Found
If you cannot find a will, it alters the estate administration process considerably. Depending on the situation, you may face the following circumstances.
A will cannot be found
Unfortunately, if no will can be found, there is no way to definitively determine what the decedent’s wishes were, and the assets of their estate will be distributed through a process called intestate succession.
During intestate succession, the probate court will appoint an estate administrator who will be responsible for managing and administering the estate. This administrator will handle any responsibilities necessary and then distribute assets to legal heirs according to state intestacy laws.
If disputes arise around the distribution of an estate or its assets during the intestate succession process, it may be necessary to seek a court order to navigate them and resolve the estate. All together, entering intestate succession can be a muddy process. In any circumstance, it’s important to consult a skilled probate estate litigation attorney as a resource for resolving disputes.
A will was destroyed
In some cases, a will may have existed but was later destroyed—this happens during cases of natural disasters or even by malicious actions of family members burning the will. In these situations, you may be able to file a Petition for Probate of a Lost Will. If there is a copy of a will, the court may call those who witnessed the signing of the will to testify that the copy aligns with the original document.
However, if there was only one copy and no way to prove what was in it, the estate will likely go to intestate succession as well.
Find Support for Your Loved One’s Estate from RMO Lawyers
If you are struggling to find a will, it’s important to remain patient and consider all your options. By doing your due diligence, you can greatly increase your chances of finding a loved one’s will for the sake of upholding their interests. If you need support in the process, an estate and probate attorney can help you investigate if there may have been a will and explore your options, as well as provide a helping hand through the estate administration.
Our attorneys at RMO can offer guidance in finding a lost will. Once this process is complete, we can also pivot into helping you follow the process of submitting a will to probate, moving through probate, or navigating intestate succession.
If you a will you were told about or were expecting, no longer exists or is missing, RMO may be able to help you investigate and bring claims before the probate court.
We approach every case with dedication and compassion, helping you navigate a difficult time while building a strategy to secure your rightful access to an inheritance.
Schedule a consultation with our attorneys at RMO Lawyers to discuss your case and how we can support you.
Glossary
Decedent – A person who has died and left behind assets to be distributed to their heirs.
Probate – The court process in which the assets of an estate are gathered, inventoried, and distributed to the heirs or beneficiaries after an individual passes away, either in accordance with the deceased’s wishes if they had a will or following local intestacy laws if there was no will.
Intestate succession – The legal process for guiding the distribution of assets to legal heirs based on state intestacy law when someone passes away without leaving a will.