How do you find out if someone has a will?

After a loved one dies and you’ve said goodbye, you might be thinking about getting their financial affairs in order. Sometimes this means figuring out if they left a will behind. If they passed away unexpectedly or you never chatted to them about whether they had a will, or where they were storing it, you’ll need to take a few steps to find it. That way you can make sure their final wishes are carried out and their personal business is taken care of.  

We’ll show you how to find out if someone has left a will by taking a few simple steps. 

Search their home for a copy of the will

Some people store their will, or a copy of it, at home. So it’s worth looking in their home when you feel ready to. If it’s an emotional experience, ask other family members or friends for support. Someone else being there with you to look through everything can help make the process easier. You might want to try folders, cupboards or drawers where other important documents were kept. You could also try looking for the will in their bedroom or in the attic space or other hard-to-reach areas for storage.  

Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for their will: 

• If you’re an executor of the person’s will but you’re not a family member, make sure you get permission from the person’s family to avoid any disputes. They may also be able to help you find the will more easily.

If you’re an executor of the will, and you’re going to be responsible for sorting out all of the financial matters for the person who’s died, you may want to start collecting and organising all of the documents you find. You may need them to pay off any outstanding bills or to cancel subscriptions, for example. This list of who to contact when someone dies could be useful to you when it comes to doing all of this. 

Call their bank to check for a will

Sometimes banks will store important documents for their customers. This includes wills and deeds for their property. If you think it’s possible the person who died kept a copy of their will with their bank and you’re an executor of the person’s estate, then you can contact the bank to ask for a copy of the will.

To get access to a copy of the will you’ll usually need to give the bank: 

• Some proof of your identification like a driving licence or passport 
• A copy of the person’s death certificate (this is the document you receive after registering the death of the person).

Keep in mind that some banks might have different rules when it comes to releasing an important document such as a will. It’s always best to contact them to see what they need so you’re prepared with the correct documents before asking for a copy of the will. 

Check with their solicitor for a copy of the will

Did the person who passed away use a solicitor at any time? They might have used a local solicitors’ firm when they moved house or needed other legal advice. If you know that they’ve used a local solicitor in the past, it’s worth getting in touch with them to see if they have a copy of the will. Some people use a solicitor to write their will , so it’s a sensible place to start if you ever had conversations about which solicitor your loved one has worked with. But if you don’t know which solicitor they got help from, calling a few in the area is a good idea.  

If you find the solicitor who put the will together for your loved one, they could be storing it for them too. If you’re an executor, you’ll need to give the solicitor proof of your identification and a copy of the death certificate for them to let you have the will.  

Discovered that the solicitors’ firm your loved one used has closed? Don’t panic. All solicitors in England and Wales are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This means they have to tell the SRA who has taken on their work. In other words, who is now responsible for storing the will of your loved one. You can contact the SRA for this info so that finding a will doesn’t become too complicated in this situation. 

Carry out a will search online

There are other commercial organisations that have databases of people’s wills. The National Wills Register is a good place to start. But there are other companies that will also charge a fee to conduct a will search. Keep in mind that there’s no guarantee you’ll find the will you’re looking for, even after paying for a full search. This is because wills don’t have to be registered. So it’s a good idea to leave this till last to make sure you’ve tried every other option to find the will before paying a large fee to get more information. 

If you still haven’t found it, there are some other organisations you can contact to help you find a will. For example, when making the will, it could have been registered with the Probate Registry. This is a part of the civil courts. You can get in touch with them to see if they have any trace of your loved one’s will too. You can use Gov.uk’s online service to search for a will here if you’re based in England or you can apply by post, which you can also find out about on the Gov.uk website here. 

What happens if you can’t find a will? 

If you haven’t been able to find a will for a loved one who’s passed away then, in the eyes of the law, it’ll be assumed that they didn’t make a will. This means that any belongings or money that the person might have passed down to family members or friends must be shared out according to the rules of intestacy. These are the inheritance rules that apply when someone doesn’t have a will. It means that only certain people, considered next-of-kin in legal terms, will be allowed to receive any inheritance. The rules of intestacy can be quite complicated so getting further legal advice from a probate specialist is sensible.  

You can read more about the rules of intestacy in our guide about what happens when someone dies without a will.

Image by Sam J on Pexels.