To find a last will and testament, start where the person actually kept their important papers and work outward from there: their home, their estate planning attorney, their bank’s safe deposit box, and finally the probate court or a will registry. The original document — the one with ink signatures — is what the court needs, so your goal is to locate that specific piece of paper, not just confirm a will once existed.
Start With the Home
Most originals turn up in the person’s own residence. Check filing cabinets, desk drawers, home safes, and fireproof lockboxes first. Then move to the less obvious spots: closet shelves, the back of dresser drawers, storage bins in a basement or attic. An envelope labeled “Last Will and Testament” or carrying a law firm’s letterhead usually ends the search quickly.
A photocopy or an older draft is still a useful find. A draft often names the attorney who prepared the final version, and a copy confirms that an executed will exists somewhere. Flip through personal organizers, address books, and calendars for appointments with a lawyer or estate planner. Those entries can point you to the professional holding the original.
Contact the Attorney or Financial Advisor
Estate planning attorneys routinely hold the original will, or at least a copy, for their clients. If you know which attorney the person used, call that office first. If the firm has merged, closed, or changed names, the successor firm or the local bar association can often help you find archived client files.
When no attorney’s name comes up in the papers, follow the money. Look through bank statements, canceled checks, and credit card records for payments to a law firm. A charge of several hundred to a few thousand dollars to a legal office can signal estate planning work. Accountants and financial advisors are worth a call too, since their planning strategies often depended on the will’s terms and they may know where it’s stored.
Check the Safe Deposit Box
Banks and private vault companies hold a lot of original wills. Getting into the box after the owner dies is harder than it was during their lifetime. Banks typically freeze access once they learn the renter has died, and the rules for reopening the box vary by state.
In many states, a potential executor or close family member can request limited access for the sole purpose of searching for a will or burial instructions. You will generally need a certified death certificate, identification, and sometimes a written request. A bank officer is often present to supervise the search and inventory the contents. You usually cannot remove other assets from the box until a court formally appoints a personal representative. Call the bank directly for the specific procedure it follows.
Ask the Probate Court and Will Registries
Some people file their will with the local probate court or Register of Wills for safekeeping while they are alive. If the deceased lived in a jurisdiction that offers this service, contact the clerk of court in the county where they resided and ask whether a will is on file. A small search fee may apply.
Private will registries exist as well. The U.S. Will Registry is a national database where individuals can register the location of their will — not the document itself, but information about where it is stored and who holds it. A search can reveal whether the person registered and where to look next. Registries only help if the person signed up during their lifetime, so a negative result doesn’t mean no will exists.
If You Only Find a Copy
When a thorough search produces only a photocopy or digital scan, the legal path forward gets harder. Courts strongly prefer originals because ink signatures are the clearest proof of authenticity. If the original was last known to be in the deceased person’s possession and cannot be found, most courts apply a legal presumption that the person intentionally destroyed it to revoke it.
That presumption is rebuttable. To probate a copy of a lost will, you generally need to show:
- Valid execution: the will was properly signed and witnessed when it was created.
- No intent to revoke: the person did not destroy the will on purpose. Evidence might include statements the person made about the will, the fact that a third party like an attorney held it, or circumstances such as a fire or flood that could explain the loss.
- Verified contents: the copy accurately reflects what the will said. Witness testimony, attorney records, or a photocopy can all help establish the contents.
- Diligent search: you looked in all reasonable locations.
Most states require clear and convincing evidence to admit a copy. The process is more expensive and slower than probating an original, and the outcome is never guaranteed. If you can’t overcome the presumption of revocation, the estate will be handled as if no will existed.
What to Do Once You Find It
Deliver the original will to the probate court in the county where the deceased person lived. Courts require the document with the actual ink signatures of the person who made the will and the witnesses. A photocopy or scan won’t support a standard probate petition.
You can usually file in person at the courthouse or by certified mail with return receipt requested. Along with the will, you will typically submit a petition for probate, a certified copy of the death certificate, and information about the deceased person’s heirs and beneficiaries.
Many states impose a deadline — often 30 days after the death or after learning of the death — for anyone in possession of a will to file it with the court. The duty applies even if you are not the named executor and have no interest in serving. Failing to file is not a criminal offense in most states, but a beneficiary who is harmed by the delay can sue the person who withheld the document for damages.
Filing opens the probate process. The court reviews the will, confirms its validity, and appoints the executor named in it, or an administrator if the named executor cannot serve. Once appointed, the executor receives letters testamentary, the legal proof of authority needed to access bank accounts, transfer property titles, pay debts, and distribute assets to beneficiaries.1Internal Revenue Service. Responsibilities of an Estate Administrator
If No Will Turns Up
When no valid will can be located or probated, the estate passes through intestacy. State intestacy laws follow a fixed hierarchy that generally favors the surviving spouse and children first. If the person was unmarried and had no children, the estate typically passes to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives. The specific shares vary by state.
Intestacy can produce results the deceased person would not have chosen. An unmarried partner, a close friend, a stepchild, or a favorite charity receives nothing under intestacy unless they can establish a legal claim through another mechanism. The court also appoints an administrator rather than the person the deceased would have picked. For those reasons, finding the will — even a copy that takes extra legal work to probate — is almost always worth the effort.