After Someone Dies

Chapter 6 — Finding the Will

The will is one of the most important documents in the estate. It may identify the executors, state who inherits, include funeral wishes, appoint guardians and create trusts.

Do not assume that there is no will simply because the family cannot immediately find one. Equally, do not assume that the first will discovered is the latest or valid version.

The search should be careful, recorded and wide enough to identify any later will, codicil or evidence of where the original is held.

Why the original matters

The Probate Registry will normally expect the original will when an application for probate is made.

A photocopy, scan or unsigned draft may provide useful evidence, but it is not automatically treated in the same way as the original signed document.

If an original will was last known to be in the deceased's possession but cannot be found after death, legal questions may arise about whether the deceased deliberately destroyed it to revoke it.

That does not mean every missing original was revoked. It may have been stored elsewhere, lost during a move, retained by a solicitor or accidentally destroyed.

If only a copy is found, preserve it and obtain specialist advice. It may be possible to apply to prove a copy, but evidence will be required and the process is more complicated than an ordinary probate application.

Begin with the obvious places

Search places where the deceased kept important documents. These may include:

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Look for envelopes marked “will”, “legal documents”, “private” or with a solicitor's name.

Search carefully without treating the process as a general clearance. Do not discard old envelopes, solicitor correspondence or previous wills until the legal position is clear.

If access to a locked safe or container is needed, record who opened it and who was present. Photograph the contents before removing important documents where practical.

Ask the people most likely to know

Speak to the deceased's husband, wife, civil partner, partner, children, close relatives and trusted friends.

Ask whether the deceased ever mentioned:

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Ask neutral questions. Do not begin by telling people what the will is expected to say or who is believed to have been included.

A person may remember witnessing a will without knowing its contents. Record their name and what they recall.

Contact solicitors and will writers

Check the deceased's papers, emails and bank statements for payments to solicitors, will writers or legal-service providers.

Contact any firm the deceased used for property purchases, divorce, business matters, powers of attorney or earlier probate work. A firm may hold the original will even if a different department prepared it.

Provide the information the firm reasonably requires to search its records. This may include the deceased's full name, previous names, address, date of birth and date of death, together with a death certificate and proof of the enquirer's identity.

A firm may confirm that it holds a will but require evidence of the executor's identity before releasing it.

If the original firm has closed, its files may have been transferred to another practice or placed in archive storage. The Solicitors Regulation Authority may be able to help identify what happened to the documents of a closed firm that it regulated.

Not every will writer is a solicitor or regulated in the same way. Check any membership body named on the firm's paperwork and trace successor businesses where possible.

Check with banks and storage providers

Banks have historically stored wills and deeds for customers, although practices vary and many no longer offer this service.

Look for safe-custody receipts, annual storage charges or references to a safe-deposit box.

The bank will explain its requirements for searching or accessing stored documents after a death. Do not assume that holding a key alone gives authority to enter a safe-deposit box.

Private storage companies may also hold document boxes or sealed packets. Preserve invoices, keys and access information.

Search will-registration services

A will may have been recorded with a commercial will-registration or search service.

Such a search may identify the organisation or person believed to hold the will. It does not necessarily prove that the registered will is the latest version or that it is valid.

Use the information as a lead and obtain the actual document.

Be cautious of websites that appear official but charge for services that may not answer the question being asked. Check who operates the service, what records are searched and what the result will establish.

Searching probate records

The government's probate search service can be used to search for wills and grants that have already been admitted to probate.

It is useful for checking whether a grant has already been issued in an estate and for obtaining copies of public probate records.

It is not a complete register of every will written during a person's lifetime. A will that has not been admitted to probate may not appear there.

Finding an older will through a probate search for another connected estate does not prove that it is the deceased's current will.

Look for codicils

A codicil is a separate document that amends or adds to a will without replacing the whole will.

There may be more than one codicil. Each must be found and preserved with the will.

A codicil may change a beneficiary, gift or executor and can materially alter the result.

Do not detach a codicil that is attached to a will. Do not staple loose documents together in an attempt to organise them.

Record how the documents were found and whether they were attached, clipped, folded or stored together.

If a document appears to be a codicil but is unsigned, incorrectly witnessed or unclear, preserve it and obtain advice rather than deciding that it has no effect.

Do not alter the original

Handle the original will as little as possible.

Do not:

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Staple marks, missing pages, damage and the way documents were fastened can become relevant to the Probate Registry.

Place the will in a protective folder or envelope and store it securely. Make a working copy or scan for ordinary reference.

The original should not be sent through the post unless required. If it must be sent, follow the official instructions, use an appropriate secure service and retain a complete copy.

Check that it appears to be the latest will

Compare the date of every will, codicil and draft discovered.

Look for wording in the later will revoking earlier wills. Most professionally prepared wills contain a revocation clause, but the full circumstances must be considered.

A later date does not by itself guarantee validity. The later document may be an unsigned draft, may not have been properly executed or may relate only to assets in another country.

Do not destroy an earlier will after finding a later one. Earlier documents can provide important evidence if the later will is challenged or cannot be proved.

Prepare a list showing:

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Basic signs of execution

A will made in England and Wales will normally need to be in writing, signed by the person making it with the intention of giving effect to it, and witnessed by two people who were present at the same time.

The witnesses normally sign in the presence of the person making the will.

These are only basic indicators. Special rules and exceptions may apply, including for certain wills made by members of the armed forces or mariners.

Do not declare a will valid or invalid solely from a quick visual inspection. Questions about signatures, witnessing, capacity, knowledge, approval, coercion or fraud require legal analysis and evidence.

Marriage, civil partnership and divorce

Marriage or civil partnership can affect an earlier will and may revoke it unless the will was made in contemplation of that particular marriage or civil partnership.

Divorce, dissolution or annulment does not necessarily revoke the whole will. It normally affects provisions relating to the former spouse or civil partner as though that person had died, subject to the wording and circumstances.

If the deceased married, entered a civil partnership, divorced or dissolved a civil partnership after making the will, obtain advice before relying on it.

Separation alone does not have the same legal effect as divorce or dissolution.

Foreign wills and assets abroad

The deceased may have made a separate will dealing with property in another country.

A foreign will may revoke an English will unintentionally, or the two documents may have been designed to operate together.

Do not assume that the document with the latest date replaces every earlier will worldwide.

Identify all countries where the deceased lived, owned property, held accounts or had citizenship or domicile connections. Obtain advice from lawyers with experience of the relevant jurisdictions before applying for probate or dealing with overseas assets.

Identify and contact the executors

Once the apparent latest will is located, identify every executor named in it and any substitute executors.

Confirm each person's:

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Do not assume that a person with the same name is the intended executor without checking the identifying details and surrounding evidence.

Give each executor a copy of the will and explain where the original is held. The executors should agree how documents, decisions and contact with beneficiaries will be managed.

An executor who does not wish to take an active role should understand the difference between having power reserved and formally renouncing. Professional advice may be needed before any document is signed.

If no will can be found

Keep a written record of every search and enquiry.

Record:

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Do not move straight to an intestacy application merely because the first search was unsuccessful.

If a copy, draft or evidence of a will exists, obtain advice about further searches and whether an application involving the missing will is possible.

If reasonable searches establish that there is no valid will, the estate will be administered under the intestacy rules and the appropriate person may apply for letters of administration.

If somebody is withholding the will

A person should not conceal or destroy a will because they dislike its contents.

If there is reason to believe that somebody holds the original and refuses to release it, preserve the evidence of that belief and obtain legal advice.

The court has powers that may be used to require information or the production of testamentary documents.

Do not enter property without authority, threaten the person or attempt to seize the document. A controlled legal request is safer and more effective.

Finding the will checklist

1. Search the deceased's usual document-storage places carefully.

2. Ask close relatives and trusted contacts what they know.

3. Check papers, emails and bank statements for solicitors or will writers.

4. Contact firms that previously acted for the deceased.

5. Trace the files of any firm that has closed.

6. Check banks, safe-deposit facilities and private storage providers.

7. Consider an appropriate will-registration search.

8. Search public probate records to see whether a grant has already been issued.

9. Preserve every original, copy, draft and codicil found.

10. Do not remove fastenings, mark or repair the original.

11. Compare dates without destroying earlier documents.

12. Record where, when and by whom each document was found.

13. Consider later marriage, civil partnership, divorce and overseas wills.

14. Identify and contact all named and substitute executors.

15. Obtain advice if the original is missing, validity is uncertain or a document is being withheld.

Finding a document headed “will” is not the end of the search. The task is to locate and preserve the original testamentary documents, establish which appear to be the latest and place them in the hands of the people entitled to act.

The next chapter explains what should happen when the validity or effect of the will is disputed.

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About Harry Georgiou

Harry Georgiou is the owner of Swifty Clearances, a waste clearance business. He writes about responsible waste disposal, fly-tipping prevention, and the practical steps households and businesses can take to avoid inadvertently funding illegal waste operations.

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Chapter 6 — Finding the Will

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