How to Find the Will after a Death

How to Find a Will that may have been lost or mislaid. (or skip to professional search)

Do bear in mind that it is a signed and witnessed original Last Will and testament you need to find, or the chances are that the estate will have to be distributed under the Rules of Intestacy. It is conceivable that a copy Will may be accepted (more on that below), but the burden of proof that it is a copy of the correct and signed Will is high. Under the Will Custodian system, there is a copy for the person whose document it is, plus laminated storage certificates (hard to lose!) for them AND their executors. On top of that, there is an annual newsletter and checklist sent out, and a monthly or annual direct debit. So if we are storing it, you won’t be reading this page. Is your Legal Planning secure? Look at the bank statements to see if anyone is being paid for storage, and check with the bank/s to see if there is a safe deposit box. Some people keep such vital documents at home in inexpensive home safes, but these do get very hot inside if there is a fire, so there is a danger that they could be incinerated. Need to register a death?

Where to look when trying to find a Will:

Wherever YOUR Will is, it needs to be safe and accessible to your executors, who need to know where it is. We’ve tried to put this list of places to try in some sort of logical order:

Most people sadly store these crucial documents at home,

so a meticulous search of all paperwork is needed. If that search is carried out by someone who doesn’t like the contents of the Will, it just could “disappear.” Where the precaution of safe storage has been taken up, most providers just send a one-page letter confirming receipt and you’ll never hear from them again. So if that letter is lost… (Business people often keep important documents at work.)

Check that their bank

doesn’t hold a Will (but watch out for their expensive probate services!) Bear in mind that if it is in a Safe Deposit box, the executors may not be able to access it unless they have obtained probate – for which the Last Will is a requirement, so do NOT store such documents there.

Is there a regular solicitor or Will Writer

they were in touch with? Look for letters or business cards.

Their financial adviser may know,

and quite a few financial advisers write Wills or introduce clients to Professional Will Writers. They should know about shares and other investments – but some are just forgotten, and it may still be necessary to search for shares etc – see below.

Ask the Secretary of the Local Law Society

if they would kindly email their local members if they have information regarding the lost Will – they’ll need the full name, date of birth and addresses the person has lived at – plus any other names they may be known by (find the birth certificate – people often don’t use their legal names.) If the firm is no longer in business, they may be able to tell you who took it over. Failing that:

Most lost Wills are written by solicitors.

Not because they are careless, but because they outnumber Will Writers by 20 to 1! If the solicitor is no longer in business, the Solicitors Regulation Authority may hold records for firms and individual solicitors. Sometimes the SRA will hold the lost Will, other times they can advise you who has taken over the firm who originally wrote it. Of course, they may have no record, so local solicitors may just know who took over.      The other issue with the SRA is that it can take well over a year to go through and record the documents held by a former solicitors practice (I have heard it can take 3 years!) The information that they would require from a customer to find a will would be as much as possible:

• The name of the firm of solicitors used.
• The name of the individual solicitor they dealt with (although this is not always necessary).
• If searching further back than 1993, the year in which the Will was made, they can search in the appropriate written records.

When a firm moves, closes or amalgamates into another, it usually holds information about who the successor firm would be, or if no successor firm is appointed, it usually holds details of the location of where files may be held.

If they do not hold information of a successor firm, or if they do not hold a location of files, they would search for solicitors who were at the firm at the time of closure who may still be contactable. If they are still practising, they would provide the customer with their current practising details so they could speak with the individual directly.

However, if the individual is not practising, but the Solicitors Registration Authority holds a personal home address, they would offer the customer a forward-on service. The SRA would forward a letter requesting files only on the customers’ behalf using the following procedure:

a. Write a letter for the attention of the solicitor, explaining that they wish to retrieve specific files or documents from them, ensuring that they include their name and contact details on this letter so that the solicitor can contact them directly.

b. Send the request with a covering letter or email to the SRA requesting that we forward the letter to the private address held on our records.

For further guidance from the Solicitors Regulation Authority about a lost will, 01527 504450. They open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 8.30 am to 5 pm, Tuesday: 9.30 am to 5 pm. Or e-mail co***********@*****rg.uk

The Probate Registry stores some Wills:

you have to write to them with an original death certificate: they don’t give information on the phone. Address: Will Storage, Newcastle DPR, 2nd Floor, Kings Court, Earl Grey Way, North Shields NE29 6AR. If it is stored with them, there should be a Certificate with the relevant number on it, but it is just a flimsy piece of paper, easily lost. The PA7A is the form used to retrieve documents stored by the Principal Probate Registry. Will searches of their vaults are free of charge by the Probate Registry and are conducted by providing the name date of birth and date of death of the testator and any details surrounding the storage of the will if they have any to this email address sa***********************@*********ov.uk or submitting a request with full details by post. Please don’t try to ring them! Will searches can only check for original wills held by the Probate Registry.

The Society of Will Writers stores a large number

of documents for current and past members as well as for solicitors, etc, who have retired, ask for the Custody Department (best to use their email enquiry form). If you ask, they will often circulate members in the relevant region. They also take over the storage of Wills sometimes when members or others Will writing businesses close down or go out of business, and it is not always possible to contact their owners.

The Institute of Professional Will Writers

can ask their local members (the Society of Will Writers is far larger).

Speak to friends and family or neighbours or work colleagues

who just might have witnessed a Will, though that is not conclusive proof it is the latest Will.

Check bank statements

for storage or legal fees, which may give clues to firms who may know about the lost will.

National Searches

There are several initiatives trying to pull together storage data, but they are all operated on a commercial basis, so they will cost you money – this is the most comprehensive online will search facility we believe: www.certainty.co.uk the National Will Register (a business), and they do charge for a search to attempt to locate a missing Last Will and testament with no guarantee of success. All the Wills of our Peace of Mind Service Members are also registered with Certainty.

Advertising in the local press or The Gazette

(notice code 2902) reaches a significant audience and increases the prospect of the last will being found. Quoting former names or maiden names of a testator, in case that reveals a lost will which just might lead to further information. I believe this can be included in a Certainly search at extra cost.

The Office of the Public Guardian

has a search facility for Lasting Powers of Attorney and registered Enduring Powers of Attorney, but will ask you to justify the reason for the search, and may ask for a death certificate. The search service is currently free.  But that is probably no help if you are looking for the Will unless, by chance, it throws some light on the Will search.

The doctor

may have a record of a power of attorney, and the attorneys are quite likely to be executors or know who is.

Unable to Find a Lost Will, then a copy just may be enough.

Normally, the original will must be sent to the probate registry, along with the application for the grant of representation. However, in some circumstances, the Registry may

accept a copy, providing that there is evidence to suggest that it has NOT been revoked (cancelled) by the deceased. You should also be able to produce evidence that you have tried hard to find the original signed copy of the lost Will If it is suspected to be a lost Will rather than having been revoked (cancelled), and there is clear evidence remaining that proves the testator’s wishes, an application can be made to the court for this copy Will to be proved in place of the original will. The procedure for this order is set out in Rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987. The application must be made by the person who is applying for the grant of probate, which is often the executor named in the document in question. This must be supported with sworn a statement of evidence with all relevant documentation. This evidence should broadly include:

1. The circumstances in which the original will appears lost, including where the will was last seen.
2. The attempts and searches that the executors have undertaken to locate it.
3. Details of anyone who would benefit from the estate if the evidence of the will was not proved. This is primarily focused on parties who would benefit if the deceased died intestate, but either not at all or not as greatly as if the evidence was proved. If those parties do not consent to prove the will based on the evidence submitted, the matter can be referred to the High Court for a ruling.

We have professional contacts who can help you with the process of applying for probate with a copy if you have made every effort to find the lost will.  They can of course search for the Will for you, but that does put their bill up so it is best for you to do the searches and carefully document them.

Missing Will Insurance

If a newer will is found after the estate is distributed, it can lead to a costly legal process and redistribution of the estate. Missing Will Insurance enables the estate to be distributed and protects any future liabilities of the executors, personal representatives and beneficiaries. Beneficiaries can relax safe in the knowledge that if another will is discovered, they won’t need to repay any of their inheritance. You can find out more or get a quote from Insuristic here.