How to find a will

How to find a will

As there is no mandatory central register, there is no sure-fire way to locate a will.

We recommend the following:

1. It may sound obvious, but many people keep their wills at home, perhaps in a locked desk drawer or in another safe location (assuming they were relatively organised).
2. Sometimes people leave their wills with an executor. Who might the executor be? Check with likely candidates, such as children and close friends.
3. Wills which are drafted by a solicitor are often stored by that solicitor. Try contacting solicitors local to the deceased.
4. Sometimes wills are stored with banks. Try contacting the deceased’s bank.
5. There is a central wills bank at the Principal Registry of the Family Division. However, it is not mandatory to lodge a will at the Registry; only a minority are lodged here. The address is: Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42 - 49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP. Tel: 020 7947 6043/6939
6. Finally, you could try contacting an independent service such as Certainty, www.certainty.co.uk. Certainty provides a volunatery will register which may contain details of the deceased's will. Certainly also offers broader will searches, including a search of local solicitors. We have not tested Certainty's services.

A full search

If you have reason to believe that the deceased left a will, you should conduct as full a search as possible, as the existence or otherwise of a will may have a significant effect on how the estate is managed and distributed.

If all reasonable attempts have been made to find it without success, it can be assumed that the will was destroyed.